Time for a much needed update

I've had the lapband surgery..so I suppose I should blog a little about that first, huh? :)

I had my colsult with the dr on the 28th of Oct, was approved for the surgery on the 31st of Oct and scheduled for surgery on the 19th of November. Pretty quick and easy peasy.

We got to Wichita Falls on the 18th and got a little lost trying to find the hosptial. Finally found it and we were a bit early for preadmission. I got called back for all the preadmission stuff right at 8, when they start preadmission. lol After some blood draws, tons of questions, and the oh so lovely urine sample I was all pre admitted. :) We had a bit of time to kill before the band class, so we went to BK where Dave ate breakfast and I watched.:) We got to Dr. Warnock's office a bit before the band class. Dave and I sat through the 2+hours of that along with 2 other lap band patients. It was interesting and I did learn a little. :) After the band class I had my appt, which took forever!!! For some reason, they kept skipping me and moving on to other patients. UGH. Finally got back there and had to do an EKG. Fun stuff. Dr Warnock came in and told me I had gall stones, so my gall bladder would be coming out. He also said I did a great job on the pre-op diet. I lost about 15lbs. He said it shows that I am willing to do what it takes to make the band work. After the appt, we checked into the guest house, Dave got some dinner, we checked on the kiddos, and we went to bed. I had to be at the hospital for surgery at 5 am. We decided it was easier to walk to the hospital than to drive, so we headed over just before 5. We got there about 15 min before they started checking patients in, so we watched some Married With Children re-runs. That's some good TV. lol I got called back, changed into the robe, and waited. Finally a nurse came in and started my IV. Well, she attempted to start my IV and the other nurse actually got it started. They gave me some sort of anti anxiety med, asked me some questions, then we waited. I dozed a little and Dave watched tv. He probably dozed a little as well. Another nurse came in to wheel me into the surgery waiting area. Let me tell ya, it was like riding in a bumper car. LOL Finally got to the surgery waiting area. The anesthesiologist came in and talked to me as well as Dr. Warnock. I think I waited 30-45 min before they came to wheel me back to surgery. I said my goodbyes to Dave and off I went. Got in the operating room, moved from the bed to the table, centered up, had everyone introduce themselves, remember having a mask somewhere near my face and that was it. :) I woke up later super thirsty with a totally dry mouth. Yuck. Of course, you can't drink anything, so I just got to swab my mouth with wet foam on a stick. LOL I stayed in recovery for a while, not exactly sure how long. They called Dave to tell him what room I would be going into and when the room was ready, off we went. :) Dave was there waiting when we got there. :) I got all settled in, had some sort of pain killer and just chilled with Dave for a bit. Dr. Warnock had already spoken to him about the surgery and how it went. In addition to taking out my gall bladder and putting in the band, he also repaired a hiatal hernia. Dave hung out for a while. I ordered some apple juice, jello and beef broth. I thought the beef broth was the best thing ever. Had to have been the morphine. LOL Dave and I walked the halls a bit. I think he went and got some lunch. I don't know. I don't have the best of memories and it's really not good when I'm doped up on morphine. LOL He ended up leaving for the night eventually. :)The morning of the 20th I was up and showered at 4 am. It's not like I got much sleep anyway. There is always someone in checking something. :) I don't know what time Dave got there, it was pretty early. We walked the halls some more. I put in a call for some pain meds. I think I did a little too much walking. Dr. Warnock came to see me and give me the ok to check out. The nurse removed the staples from my incisions and glued on the steri strip thingies. I got dressed in real clothes and we were outta there around 11ish. I had my script for liquid lortab and went to Shepherd AFB to fill it, but they don't have it. We ended up finding a Wal-mart to get it filled. While we were waiting Dave got some subway and I got to ride a scooter. LOL We picked up a few essentials, got the script and headed to the guest house for the night.We spent the night of the 20th in the guest house. We did walk the halls there a few times.I probably could have walked more. We called and talked to Lucas, I called my Mom, and we just watched tv. I slept in the recliner, which was nice. The morning of the 21st,w e got up, checked out of the guest house and headed to the base to fill up the truck with gas. :) After that I had an appt at Dr. Warnock's office so that he could check me over and give me the ok to drive home. The drive home was long and uncomfortable, but we eventually made it. Dave and David went and picked up Griffin and Lucas and the dog. When they got back, Dave and I had to take Griffin to Dr. J's ( our local doc in a box) because he had pink eye. Fun times. Then it was another trip to walmart for more scripts. It was way too long of a day for me with way too much activity and I was feeling really wiped out by the time we got home. Anyway, Sat and Sun I rested while Dave and the boys took care of everything. Monday Dave went back to work and David helped me get Lucas and Griffin off to school. Thank goodness David was there. I was basically useless. Monday night I dug up lunch money for the boys because there was no way I was packing (or making David pack) another lunch for them. :) Thank goodness it was Thanksgiving break and they only had school Mon and Tues. Wed was horrible. The worst recovery day ever. I was seriously questioning my choices. Thursday Dave and David cooked a mini Thanksgiving dinner. I felt much better then and have been feeling better every day since. I've progressed from clear liquids, to full liquids, to "able to be sucked through a straw", to soft foods with no issues. I'm getting in as much water as I can and making sure I am not eating too much. Until I get "proper" restriction with the band, it's all about dieting, portion control,and exercise. :) Fun times. Well, now that I have bored you to death, I'll sign off. :)