Jump to content

Dolittle

Moderator
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,034

  • Joined

  • Days Won

    77

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by Dolittle

  1. Dolittle

    10 Days Post-Op

    By Dolittle,

    It's been 10 days since my LBL, My body still feels like I've been run over by a truck,, I can say it's not as bad as those first few days after my surgery, but, it's a slow recovery. The tops of my legs are still numb and tingly. My belly button is still leaking,, it leaks the same fluid that is draining from my tubes, kind of a light red colored water. I'm keeping my new button cleaned out and watching it like a hawk,, they say the belly button is one of the hot spots for infection after surgery. During surgery they pump 2 very large bags of fluid into you and 1 small bag of antibiotics, so your full of fluids and swollen. Your so swollen that I had made a mistake of not taking along a pair of sweat pants for my return flight home. The day I left RBTS I had to wear my shorts home, my jeans wouldn't button, even though they were loose when I arrived in TJ. Mornings are tough,, I'm stiff and sore till I get up and move around a little, but everyday it gets easier to get out of bed. I've learned to hold the front of my stomach with my hands when coughing or sneezing. If you don't, your in for some severe pain. Today I think I'll have my wife take some 10 day post-op pictures. I haven't decided if I'm going to post them or not. I have the before pics stored on my computer. I don't know,, its not a pretty site looking at pics of someones hanging skin or their post-op pics. The problem with the post-op pics is that your so swollen, stitched and bandaged up, its hard to see any results. I'll think about it today.
  2. Dolittle

    2 month post-op pictures

    By Dolittle,

    It's been 2 months since my surgery,, as promised I'm posting new pictures. I merged three pictures together (pre-op, 10 day post-op and 2 month post-op) so you can see the difference. The healing process has been slow. They say it takes anywhere from 2 to 6 months or longer,, I believe them. LOL. I still have little aches and pains, depends how I move or stretch. The front of my stomach and the tops of my legs are still numb and swollen, but I can tell its getting less numb and swollen as time goes by. Also, I have a hard time telling the difference between my 10 day post-op and my 2 month post-op, but that's me. One thing that doesn't help is that since my LBL, I've gained 15 lbs, If you remember in a previous blog, Dr. Martinez removed .5cc's from my band the day before my LBL, So I have hardly any restriction. It goes to answer that question that pops up here at the forum about life after you have reached your goal, that question being once you have reached your goal weight do you have the band removed and you live a normal life?? I don't think so!! Old habits come back,, Thanksgiving and Christmas, AKA,, the fattening season doesn't help, plus not being able to exercise since the LBL add to the weight gain. I have made an appointment to get my band adjusted and have that .5cc's put back into my band. I should be able to start exercising at the beginning of the new year. I probably won't post new pictures till I hit the 6 month mark. I'll post a notice in the plastic surgery topic when that happens.

    pre-op, 10 day post-op, 2 month post-op, Front

    pre-op,10 day post-op, 2 month post-op, Side
  3. Dolittle
    It's been 4 weeks since my LBL surgery. Not much has changed, the healing process is very slow. I have been cutting and pulling stitches as my incision heals. I had to ask for help on a few of the stitches, my good friend and biking buddy used to be a nurse, she had to use her medical skills to remove several of my stitches that my wife couldn't get. It helped to share a bottle of white zin as we did this, it made it fun and she did a great job. I still have a couple stitches left in my incision on my right hip. That section is lagging behind the rest of my incision. I'm still swollen, the tops of my legs are still numb,, the left is worse than the right. My groin is still swollen and numb, but,, its all getting better,, slowly. I'll take and post pictures at the 2 month mark. If I did it now, you wouldn't see any difference.
  4. Dolittle

    Back To Work

    By Dolittle,

    It's Monday,, November 3rd, I went back to work today and tested the waters. I retired young, a couple years back, from the trucking industry. I took this little part time job working at our county court house. I only work 15 to 20 hours a week. It's sort of like a hobby job. LOL. I had to go buy a new pair of pants to go with my suit coat. With being swollen and bruised really good, I had to buy a pair that was 2 sizes larger than what I worn before surgery. My biggest concern was hiding the drain resviour and standing on my feet for more than a few minutes. I only had to do court for a couple hours today,, I'm glad,, I was a lttle wore out from just that. I didn't have any leaks, so I must have done a good job with my bandages. So I concider this a good day. Tomorrow I'm off,, so its a R & R day. I can't wait to get rid of those drain tubes, Cosmed won't let you pull the tubes till you drain less than 25cc's in a day. I'm at 75cc's a day. After work I stopped by the local health store and picked up some Silver Nitrate spray, to spray into my belly button, I'm trying real hard to stay on top of that.
  5. Dolittle
    Well, the big day is tomorrow, I have my bags packed. If all goes well, I should be at the OCC clinic at 8am tomorrow.
    I'm suprised, this morning I stepped on the scale and I was down 12lbs. The scale never lies, the pre-op diet does work, but its not fun.
  6. Dolittle

    Day After Surgery

    By Dolittle,

    Hi Gang - sorry I haven't had a chance to get on until now. Surgery went well as far as I know--can't see anything yet because it's all bandaged up. Surgery took about 5 hours. I slept ok last night and everything was good until I went to get up first thing this morning and I got really nauseated. They put something in my IV and that seems to have taken care of it. The girls from the Recovery by the Sea picked me up around 11:00. We picked up my meds on the way...they know the places that will save a lot of money on the meds. The hospitality here has been great. I'm in bed (supposed to stay in bed the first day) and I'm really sore. I'll try to post something again tomorrow.
  7. Dolittle

    Dolittle's Vacation

    By Dolittle,

    Do you newbies and wannabe lap-banders and sleeve patients wonder what it's like to eat at buffets in restaurants at an All-Inclusive resort? Here's how I handle it.
    Breakfast buffet:
    One egg over easy, 2 strips of bacon, 2 thin slices of grapefruit and 1 piece of steamed broccoli. The amount was just right. I didn't over do it and was very satisfied.
  8. Dolittle

    Dolittle's Vacation

    By Dolittle,

    Lunch buffet:
    1 hamburger patty with a little cheese and lots of ketchup (I like ketchup), 2 small BBQ ribs and some kind of mystery meat. I ate half of the burger patty, ate some of the ribs and mystery meat and was full.
    A hour after lunch, and I'm not going to lie, I snuck in a very small soft serve ice cream cone.
  9. Dolittle

    Dolittle's Vacation

    By Dolittle,

    Dinner at a restaurant:
    I had a couple bites of a small appetizer (not pictured). Then for the main course, I had several pieces of meat and ate several bites of the tomato and potatoes, I left the rice.
    I still had room left to sample a little 2 inch diameter piece of cheese cake.
    After dinner, I socialized with our group and had a Tequila Sunrise drink. I didn't feel I over ate, But I felt full all day.
    I have issues with getting in my daily requirements of protein, so you'll notice I concentrated on the protein.
    Going to a buffet or going on vacation isn't a major challenge to the lap-band or sleeve lifestyle. I know a lot of it looks tasty, but just take a bite or two and before you know it, your full.
  10. Dolittle

    Drink, Drink, Drink

    By Dolittle,

    It's been 11 days since I had the sleeve revision. I'm feeling like I'm just water logged. All I have been doing is drinking. It's kind of hard drinking so many fuilds. Between water, protein shakes and brothy soups, I'm floating!
  11. Dolittle

    Fill Trip

    By Dolittle,

    It's been more than a couple months since my LBL, If you remember,, Dr. Martinez pulled .5cc's out of my band the day before my LBL. I've really missed the restriction and gained 15 lbs during recovery. Today I made a trip up to Oak Brook Illinois to Synchrony Health and had a band adjustment. They added .3cc's and we'll see if this will put me back on the weight loss track. I know that I had .5cc's pulled in October,, but I didn't want to take the full .5cc's at one fill. I remember I may have been too tight back in October,, so the .3cc's could do the trick. As you know,, its better to sneak up on your sweet spot than to be too tight. We'll see how it goes.
  12. Dolittle
    Today is Friday,, my wife headed back home and I'll be here till next Wednesday. I'm feeling better every day. The girls here at Recovery by the Sea are really nice. There's 4 women here that had plastic surgery and I'm the only guy. 3 of them had LBL and one had a lot of lypo done. The girl that had the lypo is really sore. I think she had too much done in one visit. Another had the LBL and wanted to stay an extra week to have a face lift,, but Cosmed wouldn't do it. They were concerned over her saftey and her blood levels were low from the LBL. This goes to say that Cosmed thinks about their patients. They'd rather turn you down than risk your health. I'd say that was a big plus for Cosmed and Dr. Quiroz. They have a great reputation and they want to keep it that way. I probably won't do a blog tomorrow, I'm kind of in a healing mode and there's just not much I can write about till I go back to Cosmed for a check up, that would be either on Monday or Tuesday before I fly back home. I know many of you are watching and learning what it's like to go through a LBL. It's an adventure,, that's for sure.
  13. Dolittle

    Getting Ready

    By Dolittle,

    Things are moving along,, airfare is booked, lab tests are faxed in and a deposit check has been sent to Cosmed and Recovery by the Sea. I'm going over my mini list of stuff I must have, like passport, cash, you know, important stuff. Hey, I'm a guy,, as long as I have my passport, some cash and clean underware,, I'm good to go. I contacted Rene at the OCC and scheduled a band UNFILL. I'm waiting to here back from Dr. Quiroz to what he wants me to do concerning my band saline level. Right now I have 2.4cc's in my 4cc band. I can say that I'm on the tight end of restriction. I've always had better results with my weight loss running a little tight than a little loose. But, like I've said before, everyone is different. I'm thinking I might have the OCC take out maybe 1cc. My thought is to not have to worry about restriction while I'm doing recovery for a LBL. From what I've heard I'm going to be in pain from the LBL, so why worry about eating and PBing and getting food stuck. One of my biggest concerns with the band is my port. Since I've lost 95lbs, my port sticks out some,, not a lot, but some. But with the LBL, is it going to really stick out?? This is a question I'll address with Dr. Martinez while I'm at the OCC. Oh, one more thing, when I was talking to Vicki at Recovery by the Sea (RBTS) (she is so sweet too!) She told me I needed to go to Walmart, buy and bring along a pack of "Wife Beater" T-Shirts,, to wear in recovery, OMG! My guess is because their cheap, white and you can throw them away after you've messed them all up. Yuk! Wifebeaters are so NOT me. This will probably be my last entry till I arrive in TJ on Monday the 20th. C ya
  14. Dolittle

    GOING WELL

    By Dolittle,

    It´s been 4 days since surgery and everything is going well. I haven´t been hungry. I´ve been drinking vitamin water and today I get to do some liquid yogurt. I´ll be going back to the OCC today to have my drain looked at and possibly removed. I´m a little bored, so feeling pretty good, last night I walked down to Revelution Ave from the Marriott,,, piece of cake. I took a taxi back, didn´t want to over do it, but I felt good.
  15. Dolittle

    In Tijuana

    By Dolittle,

    Today I'm in Tijuana,, First stop was the OCC and a warm welcome from all the staff. They have added some new people and some have left,, So I got to meet the new and took pictures of the new people to post here at the forum. I'll do that when I get back home in a week. I did see that everyone is wearing uniforms now,, that's different from when I was last here in May. Today was Rene's birthday,, so there was a little party. My main concern was since I'm having a LBL tomorrow, I needed to talk to Dr. Martinez about my lapabnd saline level and my port. He decided we needed to pull .5cc's out of my band. Come to find out, I had 2.2cc's in my band when I thought I had 2.4cc's,, so now I'm down to 1.7cc's. Dr. Martinez's concern was the LBL surgery was going to make me retain fluid and this could create a problem with everything swelling up inside of me and I'd end up with more restriction then I'd like. As far as the port goes,, He felt Dr. Quiroz would move my port and bury it a little deeper. Dr. Martinez has seen Dr. Quiroz's work and knows Dr. Quiroz will do a fine job of moving my port. As usual,, everyone at the OCC was great. I'm done here,, so now its off to the Lucerna. I quick check into the Lucerna and drop our bags in the room and head over to the Cosmed Clinic and meet up with Joyce,, Dr. Quiroz's coordinator, she's a real sweety. Filled out some paper work and back to the Lucerna for a good nights sleep. Tomorrow I have to be at the Cosmed at 8am.. The big day... YIKES! I don't know if I'll be up to posting tomorrow or not,, we'll see.
  16. Dolittle

    LIQUID YOGURT

    By Dolittle,

    I got to try my first liquid yogurt last night. I can say it was OK, but it made my insides churn a little. Kind of felt like I was building lots of "GAS" lol. Doing good and feeling pretty good too. Met a group of nice ladies that were heading over to the OCC to have their surgery today. Wished them great success and told them that this surgery was easy. They all had smiles.
  17. Dolittle

    Looking like a Turkey

    By Dolittle,

    Well, with surgery being a little over a week away, one of the must do's before I get to Cosmed is to shave.. Since this is a lower body lift procedure,, we're talking a body shave. Last night I started out by using a regular electric hair trimmer and away I went. I started at my neck and went to my ankles. Being a guy,, It's just not something I'm used to. I had my loving wifes help on those hard to reach spots. OMG, now I look like the Thanksgiving Turkey sitting in the roaster,,,SORRY,, no pictures. LOL. I've had requests that I post before and after pictures of my LBL. I'm thinking about it, but don't get your hopes up,, I'm a shy guy.
  18. Dolittle
    I was lap banded in March 2007. This was a major life changing decision and I had anxiety like I've never had before. The lap band surgery was a breeze and the anxiety disappeared, as did my weight. I never anticipated how much success I would have with the band. I ended up losing close to 100 pounds in the first year. As time went by, I ended up leveling out on my weight loss and my body adjusted, my metabolism changed and slowly I was gaining weight. My band has been a great tool, like a friend that kept me in check with my eating. But, it's time for my lap band to go.
    Several reasons factored in to my decision to go with a sleeve revision. One of the biggest is what I mentioned at the start of my blog. Some of the other reasons had to do with aftercare. I had lost my fill doctor up in Chicago, he moved on to a teaching position in Cininnati OH and being a Mexico band patient, I couldn't find many American doctors to touch me. This alone was turning into a major pain in the butt. But, I really didn't need any fills any more. I had reached my sweet spot and the band was working, but my weight was just creeping upwards. I really needed to eat less. The band worked, but I always felt hungry. The bottom 2/3rds of my stomach wanted more and slowly I would eat more often. With this and my metabolism being at turtle speed, I was slowly gaining weight and heading back to my old life. There was also the thought something might happen to my band or my stomach because of slippage or erosion. I didn't have any of these issues, but would I in time?
    So,, I'm not going back to the old me. I've had a big taste of the good life. With 100 pounds gone and really enjoying the new me, why would I go back to the old me. So, I've done my "HOMEWORK" and have decided to go with a sleeve revision.
    I'm scheduled at the end of July. Do I have any anxiety, not really, been through it in the past. I made good choices with the band, such as going to the OCC and having Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Martinez as my surgical team, so why would I have any need to have anxiety or think twice about this decision. I'm really looking forward to this!
  19. Dolittle
    I hate to tell you guys,, there just hasn't been much going on here at RBTS. I'm just sitting around on my butt trying to recover from the LBL. OH,, here's one thing,, My "New" belly button won't stop leaking, for some strange reason its leaking the same fluid that's running out my drainage tubes and into the holding bulb. The nurse here at RBTS is going to try to figure out a way to stop the flow. They say the belly button is the hardest thing to stop from being infected and it needs to stay dry. I'll keep ya posted on that. LOL. Exciding hey!
    Tomorrows schedule is a van trip to TJ and Cosmed clinic for a check up by Dr. Quiroz. Everyone that's staying here is going along. Kind of an one shot trip. You know this recovery stuff is really boring,, when everyone gets excided to go on a van ride. LOL. More tomorrow.
  20. Dolittle

    One week out

    By Dolittle,

    I'm one week out and back home now. Feeling pretty good and excided that the surgery and trip are behind me now. I'm amazed, I really do feel pretty good, it was alot like my lap-band surgery back in 2007.
  21. Dolittle

    Paper Work

    By Dolittle,

    Times have changed since I had my lap band surgery in 2007. The OCC has refined their system and added numerous patient questionaires, pre-op diets, post-op diets and etc. Back in the old days, you called the OCC and set your surgery date, sent them some down payment money and brought the rest on your surgery date. You then showed up on your scheduled surgery date,, answered a few questions, did some lab work, talk to the heart doc, talk to the dietician doc and you were lap banded.
    Now, having raised their standards of professionalism and excellence, they have really raised the bar to new and higher levels. Its a win-win situation for all the parties involved. More paperwork means more info from me the patient. Thus, more info for them to make my lap band to sleeve journey a more successful one. The paperwork didn't take too long and it was easy to send via their web links. I'm hoping if everything goes as easy as this, my surgery should be a walk in the park!
  22. Dolittle
    Here are my 2 day pre-op and 10 day post-op pictures. I have a lot of swelling in the post-op pictures, so it's hard to tell what my results are going to be. They say it will take months for the swelling to go down. I'll add newer post-op pictures as time goes.

    Pre-op,,,,,,,,,,,,, 10 days Post-op,,,,,,,,, Pre-op,,,,,,,,, 10days Post-op
  23. Dolittle

    Pre-Op Diet

    By Dolittle,

    Even though I'm scheduled at the end of the month, I'm opting to start phasing into the full liquid diet. Since the Fourth of July has past, I figured it wouldn't hurt to start now. Yesterday I did liquid soup and some yogurt. Stayed away from any solids and anything with fat in it. So far,, its going OK. As you know, two weeks before your surgery is when you really toe the line. I'll keep you posted. I'm also making sure I get my daily bicycle ride in. One, this make your lungs stronger. Two, burns calories. A win-win.
  24. Dolittle
    So far the pre-op diet phasing into total liquids seems to be working. I'm having an easier time making the switch to liquids. This weekend I'll be running over to my local Sams Club and picking up a couple cases of protien shakes for the big push before my surgery.
  25. Dolittle

    Pulled a Drainage Tube

    By Dolittle,

    It's Thursday, November 6th. I had an issue develope concerning a small lump at the top of my left leg/groin crease. It's about the size of a small jaw breaker. I called Dr. Quiroz and he said it was common to have a drainage issue in the lymphoid in that area and not to mess with it, it should go down on its own over time. He decided I needed to pull the right tube out and reassemble the suction reservoir to do only one tube. I disassembled the tubing and pulled the right drainage tube, it slid out real easy. I could feel it slide along my scar line on my right side. There was probably 1 foot of tubing inside. I also started appling a lotion on my surgical tape. This will release the tape from the scab under the tape. You don't want the tape coming off and pulling the scab with it. You want the scab to fall off naturally. Today I will monitor the left drainage tube,, if there isn't much I'll call Dr. Quiroz and he may decide to pull the left tube too. We'll see, I'm hoping the left tube comes out soon, it's a pain in the butt dealing with the tubes and reservoir. Other than that, each day gets better,, less pain and feeling stonger.
×
×
  • Create New...