Surgery is fun to do, to do, to do, to do...

Yes, Virginia, Bonnie is alive after surgery. And she feels oh so awesome (not!). Liquid Lortab is nothing compared to the stuff I was getting through my IV pain pump. I should have taken full advantage of that sucker, but no, I was only pushing the dumb button like 2x per hour when I could have been pushing it 6. What a waste of good drugs!

Anyways, I had a bit of fun the night after surgery with my heart rate. It was only beating like 118x per minute while I was laying in bed. Yikes! A high heart rate means I could have had a leak or that I was dehydrated. I'm sure we can all guess that the problem was option 2, but I still had to get a ct scan. Has anyone else had one of these??? Weirdest feeling ever!!! I though I was gonna pee my pants.

Luckily the problem was just dehydration. They figured as much since I was actually feeling really really good a few hours after surgery. If you were one of the lucky few to talk to me, I know you were suprised by how awake and cognizant I was, but I tried to warn you all that I really am a trooper!

I had to get an upper GI test the day before surgery to see if I had reflux!? Yuck Yuck Yuck! Seriously, avoid this like the plague. Especially if you have to drink a bottle of magnesium citrate later that same day (If you don't know what this is, don't ask just Google :p ) Also, make sure that if you have this upper GI thing done, they give you a gown and pants that actually cover you up completely. Rolling around on a the weird x-ray machine while straining to stay inside your gown and drinking nasty barium stuff (they should just call it paint, I'm pretty sure that is barium's night job) is not an experience I ever want to repeat again.

On the plus side I did get to have a sonogram. I think I now know what all of you mothers and expecatant mothers have experienced. I got to look at my gallbladder and kidneys and saym "Oh, isn't that so cute and so special!" I thought the gel stuff was gonna be cold (isn't it always in the movies???), but the worst thing about it was the sticky residue and old-lady smell.

Now I get to look forward to a shrinking waistline, an increasingly healthy lifestyle (if you didn't know, exercise is really difficult when you're super fat), and teeny tiny meals. To give you an idea of my diet, yesterday and today I get jello and broth. Through the first week I get to add in yogurt, cottage cheese, string cheese, tomato soup, or strained cream soups. I get to eat about 2 oz 3 times per day. At the end of the month my meal sizes should be up to about 4 oz. Yippee! By then I will be able to add lunchmeat, tuna, canned vegetables. I can have fruit in 6-12 months after surgery and corn and potatoes in a year. I'll be lucky if I'll be able to eat pasta, rice, bread, or tortillas ever again; maybe if in super small quantities. Anything that becomes sticky or gummy with chewing or digestion is VERY likely to get stuck in the dime sized opening between my new stomach and my small intestines. And if it can't go down, it will have to come back up. Fun!

Sounds like I should expect to lose 50 lbs in the first 3 months, 75 by 6 months, 100 by 1 year. CRAZY! The rest will come off a bit slower.

I hope this all doesn't sound whiney, but I thought you'd like to know what some of my experiences have been so far and what they will be. This will be hard, but I feel completely certain that this will be a very good thing for me. I appreciate all of your support and love and I hope you all enjoy the ride! I'm super thankful to my mother, who flew out last minute to be with me and to all of my other friends and family who offered/begged to have me stay with them through my recovery. I love you all!

PS - I am planning on friday to be my regular posting day. I'm planning on posting a picture and a weight update. My mom thinks I should let her take a pic in my underwear for a before (or slightly afer) shot. What do you think??? :)