The Liquid Stage

When my father had the lap band procedure done back in America about 3 years ago he had to do liquids for 1-2 months, and ate several meals a day. But his diet was definitely different than mine! When I asked my surgeon about the meal plan, and the differences, he said that its not a universal plan. Each hospital (and doctor) had their own ideas on what's the best path. So here is the breakdown of the path I'm on.

I have to eat 9 meals a day, every 2 hrs. Each meal consists of approximately 2 deciliters (or 1 cup) of liquid. At no point did I have to do a clear liquid stage. Day after surgery I was supposed to consume 1600 ml of food. So straight from the word go I was going to be eating a lot the entire day!!!

As far as calories and proteins go… I was told the most important was to get in all the meals, and to get at least 60-70 grams of protein. More is better in this case. My nutritionist said the calories aren't so important and didn't give me a number to stay around. A couple days after being released from the hospital though I spoke to her on the phone as a follow up and told her about how I'd been eating the last few days. You see, I decided to make up an excel document and record my food eating schedule and estimates of calories and proteins. First full day home from the hospital and I ate almost 100 grams of proteins and about 1200 calories. That seemed like an awful lot for a weight loss surgery that so drastically reduced the size of my stomach to ensure quick fullness and reduced eating. So when I told my nutritionist all about this, she told me that 1200 calories was the estimated amount that they had on file using the suggested meal plan they gave me when I left the hospital. So I guess I'm doing good then!!

However, when I go to forum websites like Lap Band Talk and see threads where countless people mention that they are between 500-800 calories a day, I can't help but feel like what the hell is up with the food plan I'm on! That being said, I've 12 lbs in the first week after surgery. So I guess the diet can't be too wrong right?

So here is an idea of how I eat each day during this oh so fun liquid diet stage.

Time	Meal	Food	Calories	Proteins (g)
8:00	Breakfast	Sour Milk (Fil)	110	7
10:00	VLCD	Smoothie + Protein Powder	200	25
12:00	Lunch	Soup + Cottage Cheese	185	6.5
14:00	VLCD	Smoothie + PP	200	25
16:00	Drink snack	Tea, Juice, Vatter, etc	0	0
18:00	Dinner	Soup	140	3
20:00	VLCD	Smoothie + PP	200	25
22:00	Snack	Yogurt	120	7
24:00	Snack	Milk	80	6.8
Totals			1235	105.3

VLCD = Very Low Calorie Drink (i.e. Slimfast)

Now this is high for me on a day to day basis. I find it really hard to get in all of these meals. I decided to not buy the special powdered meal replacement drinks for my VLCD's, and have instead been making my own homemade smoothies with fresh fruits and .5% fat yogurt and protein powders. That really helps me to meet my protein requirements and get my calories up.

You might be looking at the table thinking "Holy crap that's a lot of dairy!" Well I was told I have to have at least 500 ml of diary a day to get the needed calcium and stuff. I love milk, so it's not that big of a deal. But I have felt rather overwhelmed by it as of late, so I like to replace one of the non VLCD snack times with another small bowl of soup. I feel like between the yogurt, fil, and smoothies, I'm getting a lot of sugar and not enough of the hearty salty balance from only 2 soup meals out of 9 meals. So I don't usually make those high of numbers. My numbers are usually around 1000 cal and 80 g of protein these days.

Oh, I should also note, that all of this is smooth consistency. No lumps. No chunks of meat or veg in the soup or fruit in the smoothies or yogurt. After 4 weeks of post op liquid stage I get to move onto pureed. Yum!

So there is the breakdown of how my daily meals go. Aren't you jealous?

So far, so good...sorta

So it's Monday, 6 days since surgery (5 if you don't count day of surgery).  So far things are going alright.  This is definitely a lot stranger of a feeling then I anticipated.

Weight as of today! 120.2 kg (265 lbs).  So I am down nearly 9 lbs since the day of surgery, and 12 lbs from my highest weight!  Pretty amazing huh?  I'm excited!!

I will say this though, this isn't easy!  I thought I was prepared.  I thought I had done tons of research and was totally ready for this.  But it seems as though that was an err in judgement.  For starters, the diet here is completely different than what my father and those in the states are likely doing.  For that matter, I was told several different things about my diet while I was in the hospital from the medical personnel.  So its taken a few days to figure out who was right and what to do.

The diet I'm on currently has me drinking 2 dl (approx 1 c) of liquid food every 2 hrs.  I'm supposed to take no more than 40 mins to eat this (however it takes me in reality an hr or more).  So I essentially feel like I'm eating allllllllllllll the time.  Probably because I am.  I think all the meals add up to 9 meals a day.  Thank god I'm not lactose intolerant either.  At least half of my meals consist of milk, yogurt, sour milk, or something along those lines.  The rest are things like juice and soup.  Yum!  Aren't you jealous?  I figured with all the soup recipes out there that I'd have no problem with this.  But since I only eat soup 2 out of 9 meals of the day, I find soup isn't the issue.  I'm sick to death of yogurt and smoothies and thing like that.  And I LOVE milk, but man what I'd give to eat a salad or bite into a piece of chicken!!!

While I was in the hospital I wasn't really having much of an issue with cravings or wanting to eat solids.  Even when I was sitting up in the patient lounge area at like 4 in the morning with the night nurse and she had chocolate bars and yogurt and honey dew out on the table I wasn't the least bit phased.  She even said to me it wasn't good for me to sit there with those things in front of me.  And it really didn't bother me.  I wasn't interested.  I really just wanted to read my magazine and go to sleep.  Since being home I find I can't really be in the same room as my boyfriend when he's eating.  Especially if it's something like rice (which is my favorite) or a pizza (which god I miss).  Just smelling it, and I feel this urge to say SCREW IT and bite into it.  Of course, greater sense prevails and I just walk away and eat my yogurt.  lol.  So it's a bit of a work.

It also feels as though time is going by slower now.  Usually the days fly by and before you know it's Christmas or something like that.  Now I'm thinking, good god I have 4 more weeks of this crap?!?!  It feels like i've been eating like this for weeks.  When in reality, it's only been days!  Perhaps it's like when people first go into rehab, and the first few days are like torture but by the end of their 30 days what once seemed impossible now seems totally doable.  I never really thought of myself as a food addict though.  

Maybe i'm just a solid food addict?

Home at last!!

After spending 3 days and 2 night in the hospital for my gastric lap band surgery, I am finally home!!!  And it's been a very interesting ordeal, to say the least!!  This post will be a long one, with pics (perhaps a little gross)...so read on with caution.

The story....

Got to the hospital on time at 7 am on Wed.  My surgery was scheduled for 7:40.  So at 7:30 I was walked from pre-op room into the surgery suite where they were going to slice and dice me.  They decided to hold off on anaesthesia until last minute possible to ensure the least risk of complications.  The surgical staff was super nice and I had a great time with them all.  Lots of jokes and goods time.  So fast forward to me in being in the recovery room.  Oh yeah, lets talk about some pain.  Thankfully though the recovery team did their best to manage it by giving me regular morphine injections.  The big problem was when I had to go to the bathroom and I needed to get out of the bed.  You see, the port was put like and inch or two below my boobs by the breast bone area.  And apparently the port was slightly tilted so it was rubbing up against the muscle in my left breast.  So every time I moved a certain way I felt a very sharp pain through the left side of my chest.  Shortly after I  managed to go to the potty, they decided to move me upstairs to my home for the next couple days.  This all went down at about 3 pm on Wednesday.

I get up to my room, and I share it with 2 elderly women.  My sambo was waiting for me and we spent some time together before he had to head home.  That day was mostly a blur spent getting morphine shots every 2-3 hrs.  I didn't sleep too well.  Usually waking up after 45 mins to an hr of sleep.  I couldn't get comfy in the bed because of my back.  So I'd try sitting up in the "day lounge" and that didn't last long because it hurt my chest and stomach (the incision areas).  So I went back and forth a lot.  Good thing was I was doing plenty of walking like they wanted.  :)  (Pic Left: Me first afternoon the afternoon, looking a bit drugged up and in pain)

So I finally get to sleep at like 3 am, and at about 4 am, one of the women I share the room with starts sleep walking or something, and woke me up.  First she takes one of the tables for visitors and uses it as a walker as she walks next to my bed.  Then she starts grabbing and yanking on the curtain around my bed, pauses starts urinating in front of my bed and then walks to the bathroom....leaving a trail.  So I end up getting up and letting the night nurses know what happened and they came in to clean up.  So I go back to dozing for 45 mins-1 hr at a time until about 8 am on Thurs when the morning nurses wake me up

The morning nurses tell me they hope to discharge me at 2 pm that day.  So, of course I'm freaking out since I had always been told I'd spend 2 nights in the hospital, so my boyfriend took Friday off instead of Thurs.  But thankfully his boss ended up giving him Thurs off too.  BUT! I ended up not going home on Thurs!  Why you ask!?!  Well.  Turns out there were a few communication issues.  The nurses call everything gastric (banding and bypass).  But the post op instructions and diets are different between the two.  And the nurses had me on the bypass meal plan.  Which involved 500 ml of liquid, spread out over 4 meals 4 hrs apart.  I was supposed to be on 1600 ml, spread over 8 meals every 2 hrs!!  So the doc decided I hadn't been eating enough liquids, so had to stay another day.  But that wasn't the only reason.

When the morning nurses woke me up they gave me 2 dl of yogurt to eat.  Swedish yogurt is nothing like American yogurt!  Much more sour and bitter.  Needless to say I wasn't the biggest fan.  After about 4 teaspoon fulls I started experiencing a lot of pain in the center of my chest.  So the doc ordered an "x-ray" (which really was a contrast catscan).  Turned out all the gas they put in my stomach and chest during the op, had moved into my intestines and was stuck since my bowels weren't functioning at the moment.  So I was having trouble getting the liquids down.  By the end of the night I was able to eat the 2 dl of food within the recommended 40 mins.  Which was a vast improvement from the 2 hrs it took me to drink a low calorie 2 dl diet shake earlier in the day.

By mid-day of day 2 they cut me off the morphine and gave me pills to take.  Which wasn't so bad.  And by the end of Thurs I felt like I was well enough to go home.  But alas, had to stay till Friday morning.  So immediately after rounds on Friday morning doc told me I was free to go!!  Woohoo!!!!  So  by 1 pm, my boyfriend arrived at the hospital to take me home!!!!!

(My hospital bed and home for 3 days.)

The technical...

Hospital admittance weight: 124.5 kg (274.5 lb)

Day 2 (Thurs) weight: 125.3 (276.2 lb)

Day 3 (Friday) weight: 123.1 (271.4 lb)

The was able to do the surgery via laproscopic.  So instead of having a large cut down the middle, I have 5 smaller ones.  He was able to slip the band on and upon review of the catscan the following day it showed that there was no leaking or complications!  The plan is to fill the band little by little every other month up to 6 times (so up to over the next 1 year).  The port is just above the big circular red bandage in the center of my body.  All my incisions have been sealed via staples.  Which I will go back on Wed June 30 (exactly 2 weeks after surgery) to have the staples removed.  

Doc says I should lose like 10 kg during the liquid stage, then gain back most of it when I start eating food again.  Then when they fill my band some more in 2 months I should steadily lose ½ kg a week.  Which is only 2 kg a month!!!  I'm hoping to double if not triple that number!  

My feelings/thoughts...

Well....the nursing staff was great!  Yes there were a few mistakes made.  And I did feel things were a bit chaotic on Thurs, but no matter what, everyone did their best to give me what I needed.  Whether that was drugs or someone to talk to about my concerns.  No matter what was going on, everyone at the hospital had a pleasant attitude and made a stressful situation much more manageable!  

While there I made friends with 2 other patients.  1 is a super sweet woman from the UK who was in a wicked car accident (but she's making a speedy recovery).  The other patient was a local swede who had the gastric bypass the day before done by the same surgeon.  She is also really sweet!  I look forward to hopefully connecting with her and perhaps we can lean on each other throughout this adventure we are both embarking on.  

So all in all.  I think it was totally worth while!  I'm happy with my decision to do this.  I know the liquid diet will be rough, but I find it's a lot easier to deal with mentally then I thought.  My stomach doesn't want to have much more then a dl or 2 of food at a time.  And I've had the pleasure of trying some really tasty VLCD (very low calorie drinks) and soups by Modifast.  Plus I have my stock of soups and smoothies I've been making at home.  So I'm totally stoked for it all!  Just looking forward to the weight loss now!

Left: 2 of the wonderful nurses who took care of me...and me. (L-R: Anna, Eva, FXA)

Right: T-Shirt I rocked in the hospital.  Should get one that says Next Skinny Thing.

End of the era...hopefully.

It's the eve of my life altering surgery.  After tomorrow I will have an itty bitty stomach sack there in by making food consumption limited!  Woohoo...wait is that the correct response?  Hmm, I think so.  Soon followed by "WTF" and "What am I getting myself into?"

I decided to take some before pics.  To document the journey.  Please be gentle with the comments.  It's not easy to put yourself out there.  My very first post has the starting stats.

Latest weight update.  I'm now down to 123.4 kg (272 lbs).  So I lost a wee bit of weight.  :)  That number was as of Sunday evening.  I have not weighed myself since.

Here comes the slide show of the before pics.

Again, please be gentle with the comments.  It's a before surgery picture.  It's meant to show me not at my finest.  Please excuse the paint stained pants.  These are my lounging pants as most of my wardrobe is packed either in hospital bag or luggage since we are moving shortly after I leave the hospital.

Pre-surgery mental update:  Well I just ate some tomato soup and all I could think was this was going to be my last meal with the stomach I have now.  From tomorrow on, eating will be a different experience.  I find I'm not so frantic and freaked today.  I suppose spending the afternoon at the zoo watching all the cute animals helped to de-stress.  But yeah, I feel alright.  Technically I can still turn back, but if I've held out this long, I'm going all the way!  So I'm excited and eager and ready for what's to come.  I hope everything goes well at the hospital.

When I finally get released and am up for it at home I'll be sure to post more about how things transpire over the next few days.

Wish me luck!!

-FXA

Oh my anxiousness!

It's 21:20 in the evening here in Sweden.  So of course the sun is shining brightly.  Strange isn't it?  Well anyway. I've got less then 36 hrs to go until I need to be at the hospital for my surgery.

I have been stressed for weeks about everything, but I think today is the start of a mental states of anxiousness, that I fully expect to last until say Wed afternoon.  Today I had some personal things to take care of, and then came home hung out with my honey for a bit and then decided to pack up like 90% of my wardrobe (since we are moving next weekend) as well as my hospital bag.  Now I'm sitting here and feeling a bit nuts.  Now I'm thinking okay what else can I do!??!

I want to make another pot of soup, but I've run out of room in our little bitty fridge/freezer for any more soups.  I would like to pack more, but there's not much else to pack (for me to do at least...got to leave some work for my man to take care of).  There isn't really crap on tv that I want to watch, but my boyfriend found some crap to watch so I can't play video games.  So you see, I'm sitting here thinking okay, what the hell am I going to do now? Which leaves me to my own devices, namely my neurotic mind.  Oh the drama!!

It doesn't help any that I'm having second thoughts!  Yesterday, after days of perpetually feeling hungry, I broke down and had my boyfriend go get a pre-marinaded chicken to bake in the oven and eat with some rice.  Awful isn't it?! Can we say FAILED!!!  I know, I know!  I just couldn't help it.  I couldn't stand the idea of eating another bowl of soup.  Which got me thinking about the surgery and the diet afterwards.  How the hell am I supposed to do this for like 4-6 weeks!!!  Insanity!  I'm hoping the big difference is the whole size of the stomach business.  Maybe when I have a barbie sized stomach I won't mind imbibing only liquids.

Am I really ready for all that I am about to have to embark upon!?!?  Sink or swim time!

-FXA

To tell or not to tell, that is the question

With my surgery date quickly approaching I find myself wondering. Do I or don't I, tell? Its one thing to put a blog up on the internet for the world (of strangers) to view it; it's another to tell your family and friends that your weight has become such an issue for you that you are resorting to surgery to do something about it. It reminds me of back in the day when online dating first started and if you said I met my boyfriend online people would think you were nuts or something. It kind of feels like there is a stigma with telling people I'm having weight loss surgery. Maybe it's all in my head, but I haven't fully come to terms yet with advertising to those closest to me what is going on.

That being said I have given a small group of people the direct link to this blog. With those people I feel most comfortable sharing the journey I'm about to embark on. And some I have said nothing. For example, my boyfriends mom is totally in the loop with everything and has even to help with getting me to and from the hospital. My boyfriend's dad, however, is on a very strict need to know basis. He knows I've got surgery, but has no clue what for. It's not a gender thing, but rather a comfort thing. It took nearly 7 months for me to tell my boyfriend's mom that I was having this surgery in the first place. So these conversations aren't coming easy for me.

I suppose it's that I feel maybe they will look down on me or think poorly of me for doing this. Like perhaps a small part of me is actually ashamed of what I'm doing. I suppose it's because I'm going the surgery route rather than doing the Biggest Loser or something. Hahaha.

So now I find myself thinking…should I tell people, and if so when? My original game plan was to wait and see how well the surgery worked, and if people said "Wow you look great, what have you been doing?!....Have you lost weight?!" Then I could come forward and say I had the surgery. Hehe.

-FXA

Week 2 update on food and diet

As of today, the weight is at 124.4 kg (274.2 lbs).  Starting tonight/tomorrow there will be no more proper meals or major solid foods.  As far as meat goes it's going to be boiled chicken, turkey, and tuna fish.  I've been eating a lot of soup and smoothies with protein powder lately to try and get my body used to it.  And I intend to make those things the main focus of my diet for the next 6 days until surgery.  I'll eat some things with substance such as tuna fish on knäckebröd (hard thin "bread"), soups with some chicken and veggie bits, and salads.

I'm not going to lie.  This is tough.  I have been eating mostly liquid kind of food for the last week for most of my daily meals.  And when it comes time to eat real food I'm like voracious.  But I do find I get fuller quicker.  So yeah for stomach shrinkage!!

I'm hoping the massive limiting of fatty stuff and what not is doing good things for my liver.  I read online a healthy liver is the best thing for a quick recovery from a surgery.  And I'm also doing this to prepare myself mentally for what is to come.  Plus I get a chance to taste all these soups I'm preparing to see if they are even worth storing in the freezer for in a few weeks.  lol.

With 6 days left till surgery, I'm definitely getting excited and anxious!  After my pre-op meetings we went to the grocery store to get this weeks groceries (mostly fresh veg and soups for me).  And I realized this was going to be my last time going grocery shopping before surgery!  Doc says I can keep eating regularly until day of surgery.  So today was my last chance to buy a big juicy steak or some other horribly unhealthy things.  lol.  And I did good.  Only bought healthy stuff.  But I did think about all the things I'd be missing for a while.

Breakdown one more time:  I haven't lost any weight yet.  I've been changing my eating habits, and as a result I already miss food!  lol.  But I'll get over it.  :) And I'm super excited!!

-FXA

Pre-op meetings today!

Just got home a short while ago from my pre-op meetings with the under surgeon (I guess that's like surgeon's assistant), the anaesthesiologist, the nurse, and the physical therapist.  After 4 hrs at the hospital I had about half my questions answered and I found out what time in the wee hrs of the morning I had to be at the hospital.  I don't really feel like I accomplished as much as I had hoped today.

First things first.  The deets on the surgery.  June 16, 2010 @ Nyköping Sjukhuset (Swedish for hospital).  I am to report for duty at 7 am sharp.  Did I mention I live about 1 hr 10 mins from the hospital?  Aren't I the lucky one!!  Surgeon is Per Lundqvist.  Getting the lap band done laproscopic.  And I should expect a hospital stay of 2-4 days.

Now onto today events!

Met with phys. therapist first.  She just gave me a flyer to show me how to get in and out of bed, and the necessity to move my feet and toes as fast as possible after surgery.  Then I started drilling her with questions about limitations and exercises for me to do one one leg or in bed/sitting since I have foot surgery on June 28th.  Should have seen her.  Poor woman.  She was seriously struggling to answer my questions.  I genuinely felt bad for her.  But I needed to know I could things beside sit in bed for the first few weeks after both surgeries.

Then went up to meet with the nurse.  She gave me the deets on the surgery, and I tried asking her a bunch of questions.  Some she attempted to answer, others she told me I'd have to ask someone else (usually either under surgeon or dietist).  But a series of questions came up that I thought were quite important.

Q: Is there any forms I need to fill out regarding my wishes pertaining to organ donorship, do not resuscitate, living will, consent to inform (about my condition), etc.?

A:  We don't have those things here.  Protocol is always to save life.  If you want something else we can put into your journal (electronic record of all my medical info). 

Q: Is my sambo (boyfriend) legally allowed to make medical decisions for me in case I become unable to? 

A: I'm not sure of the legality.  Ask the under surgeon (to which they had no clue either). 

 I asked tons of questions, but those were the ones I felt were most important and was a bit leery about the answers.

After that I moved onto the EKG, and then to the under surgeon.  The most exciting thing that happened there was when the woman asked about diseases and allergies, and I told her about celiac's and gluten (which I also mentioned to the nurse and filled out in my pre-op general health survey paperwork).  Her response was simply ok.  Which I then stipulated that all medications must be checked first and foremost that they are GF (gluten free) before administering or prescribing. She gave me a stunned look.  So then I explained to her what happened last month when the ER doc prescribed me some meds that had wheat starch in them.  Which I didn't discover until I got to the pharmacy and was filling my script and asked the pharmacist to double check they were safe.  Upon inspection we found that the original script was not GF nor was a similar med from another manufacturer.  I ended up having to go back to the ER and wait 5 hrs to meet with another doctor just to find out that besides those 2 pills there was no other option for me.  So no medicine for me!  That part didn't bother me so much as the massive waste of my time.  Anyway.  So then the under surgeon goes "Oh I hadn't even thought of that!!  I'll make a note in your journal"

Next and last stop, the anaesthesiologist.  Same set of questions from him as the previous people.  And just told me that I'd be getting knocked out with general anaesthesia and would be groggy and not feeling so hot the first day.

So there's the excitement of my day in a nutshell.  I was a bit bummed I didn't meet with the dietist as I have a ton of questions.  I meet with them after the surgery while still in the hospital.  But the nurse did her best to answer some of my food related questions regarding food consistency and stuff. I would have liked to meet with my actual surgeon to discuss a few things about the procedure with him that I hadn't thought to ask during the consultation 9 months ago, but alas, that didn't happen either.  Oh well.

Now, those of you reading this back in the states are probably thinking I'm nuts to go into a surgery without filling out a million forms and what not.  But that's just the way things are here.  It's very centralized.  All my info is put on the computer.  Only the docs can view it, with my permission.  And I'm guessing the lack of CYA paperwork is because malpractice and major medical disasters aren't really a big issue here.  Haven't heard too many stories of a doc cutting off the wrong appendage or anything yet.  And the surgeon doing my surgery did the bypass for someone I know and she is very pleased with the results.  So I'm not that worried. My biggest concern is with the medication.  Making sure it is safe for me.  :)  And of course how to pass the time when I'm stuck in the hospital for a few days.  Too far away for friends and Nick's family to really come and visit me.  But oh well.  Got to pay some kind of price right?

-FXA

 

And so it begins!

I thought I would try and answer some questions that some of you may be wondering.  If I have not covered it here, by all means ask.  :)

Why did I choose the lap band?  Well bypass is far too extreme in my opinion.  I like the idea of the lap band being a tool to help me on my journey!  Not a fix it all solution!  I have been working with a nutritionist for the last year to change my mind set and eating habits.  I'm not a huge candy or junk food eater.  My problems have always been I didn't eat breakfast, and I like to eat big dinners.  And rice, that's my biggest downfall in life.  Mmm..rice!! Anyway.  With the lap band, I'll still be allowed to eat things (granted in little bitty portions), and I don't mean I can still eat crap!  But the lap band can be adjusted to what suits me where I'm at in life.  And if there is any complications or problems, it can easily be reversed.

What am I feeling now? Oh boy!  What am I not feeling is probably a more appropriate question!  My emotions have run the gamut.  I thought once I finally got my surgery date I would be thrilled and excited to wear a bathing suit next summer.  Ha!  If only it were that simple.  I think in the last 2 weeks I have probably gone through every emotion known to man.  My poor boyfriend must think I'm clinically insane!  I mean seriously coo coo for cocoa puffs nuts!  But as the dates is getting closer, I'm finding the worries, concerns, doubts, hesitations, etc have fallen by the wayside, and now I'm just coming to terms with what is it come.  :)

How did I go about getting this surgery in Sweden?  Well here in Sweden weight loss surgeries are covered under the government health care.  So it's free or close to it.  After you have spent X amt of money (900 SEK = 125 USD give or take) on medical visits here per year you get a free health care card.  Which I have for the remainder of the year.  So first, it's free!  Score!  How'd I get to this point?  Well that's been a bit of a journey.  Feb 2009 I met with a doc at our local vårdcentral (it's like a doc office).  And I told him I was interested in the surgery.  He would then refer me to the surgeon and I would go on their waiting list for an appt.  Well, in our lan (it's like a state I suppose), there is only one hospital that does the surgery.  This hospital is about 1 hr away.  And there is only one doc who does the lap band laproscopic style and he doesn't work at the hospital full time.  He splits his time between that hospital and Stockholm (about 1 hr 15 min away).  So the doc I met in Feb, seemed to not really understand my request (as he didn't speak much English and I didn't speak much Swedish).  So he never put the request in.  Which I didn't find out until like June.  So in June I went back to the docs for another medical ailment, and asked about the request (different doc this time by the way).  And so he put in the request.  Now!  In Sweden, practically the whole country goes on vacation from like July-August.  So it's virtually impossible for anything to move faster then a snails pace.  So I got my appt with the surgeon on Oct 19, 2009. We chatted about life, interest, yadda yadda yadda.  And then he said he'd do the surgery.  So I went onto another waiting list, for surgery.  He told me 4-6 months.  But his nurse said more like 6 months.  So come Jan 2010 I call to see if there is any news since we were planning on a vacation in Feb/March.  Well I was told it would likely be end of March or April, and to call back in the beginning of March to find out more.  So I called in March, was told it was now May/June, because of some staffing issues.  So then I call back end of May and BAM! Surgery date! Scheduled for June 16.  Woohoo!!!!  Time to do the jig!

So it's been a bit of a process...but hey, it free!  And in the states insurance companies often make you wait a long time too.  Plus there were a few hiccups a long the way with communication and holidays and what not.  But at least it's finally getting done!

Do I need to do a special diet before the surgery? According to my doctor, no.  I have decided to start integrating homemade smoothies with protien powder as well as soups and other oh so tasty liquid meals into my diet.  And one week before surgery I am going to attempt to go on a soft diet.  I'll still eat things like canned tuna and perhaps salads.  But the idea I'm going for is shrinking the stomach some, as well as going high protein and lower in fat to make sure my liver is nice and healthy.

Do I have concerns about the diet after surgery?  YES!  Not only do I have to completely change my diet for this, but I also have celiac's disease (gluten-intolerant).  So when I can start eating real food again, I still have to be extra careful with things like gluten-free breads and pastas and what not.  And part of my disease is I consume any gluten it affects my body's ability to absorb nutrients and vitamins and all the good stuff your body needs to function.  So it'll be a bit of a juggling act for me.  But I'm ready for it!  :) 

Is there any food I think I'll miss?  Well I have read that steak/beef in general becomes a bit of a no-no after surgery.  I am a meat eater.  Like seriously!  My boyfriend and I think I was like a lion or a t-rex or something in a past lifetime.  lol.  Most women crave chocolate, I tend to crave meat.  We always keep lunchmeat in the house for those afternoon snacks when I just want a piece of meat.  Freaky, I know, right?  Well, being an American, I do love a nice juicy ribeye.  Which last week I went out to dinner here in Sweden to eat and say goodbye too.  Now, in all honesty, it had been like 2 years since I had a steak before then anyway.  So I think i'll miss it, but not as much as I'd miss rice, if I couldn't have that again (you might as well just shoot me then).  But in the winter I do love beef stew.  And I have recently taken a liking to elk and moose roasts.  Hey, I live in Sweden!  That's totally normal here!  But yeah, I think i'll miss food like that the most.  

And that's all I have for now.  :)  If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.  :)

-FXA

Welcome to Day 1

Of the rest of my new life!

Well it's actually just before day 1, if you count day 1 as day of surgery.  But eh, we'll go with this!

So welcome to my blog.  It's all about my journey through the lap band process here in Sweden.  Starting from now, before surgery (12 days before to be exact).  I'm going to put it ALL out there for you!  Numbers, pictures, measurements, all that evil stuff women hate to share with anyone but their doc (and even then it's a stretch).  

Let me tell you a bit about process up to this point. My road had a few wrong turns on it due to various reasons.

Well I wasn't really a fat child.  I was quite tall and skinny if I remember correctly.  Then everything changed when I hit puberty.  Then no matter how active I was or how I hate I was always heavier then average.  As I got older the heaviness became greater and the activity less.  Now at the ripe old age of 29, I'm at my highest and have decided to opt for the gastric lap band.  Now I have tried other options.  Diet pills, prescription diet pills, weight watchers, la weight loss, gym memberships, nutritionists, etc.  And as I said, when I was a teenager I was very active and still over weight.  So I haven't come to this decision lightly, nor without resorting first to other options.  

Now time for the all important numbers! (And try to be polite about them, this is hard to do)

Height:

• 169 cm (5 ft 5 inches)

Weight:

•  Starting = 124.4 kg (274.2 lbs)
•  Goal = 58 kg (128 lbs)

Measurements:

• Right arm = 41.5 cm (16.33 in)
• Bust = 116 cm (45.66 in)
• Waist = 106.5 cm (41.9 in)
• Hips = 135 cm (53.1 in)
• Right thigh = 76 cm (29.9 in)

Current Dress Size:

• 52 (Sweden) = 20 (USA)

Goals:

• Weight = 58 kgs (128 lbs)
• Dress Size = 6

What to expect from this blog:
Well I hope to include recipes that I've tried (whether I liked them or not). Emotions as well as trials and tribulations I experience.  My weight loss progress.  And just general babbling about how this process has affected me

So as you can see I have a long way to go!  You are welcome to follow me on it!  I hope a long the way I can serve as a peer or a motivator to others to reach out too.  :)

-FXA