Final Five for Tanya

Okay, Tanya has 5 days left. I remember all of my worries and I know that I had imagined the problems after weight loss surgery to be much worse that they really were. So let's give Tanya the five biggest inconveniences we had post surgery so that she will have a realistic veiw of what to expect. 1. The drain tube was bothersome, I was afraid that I would pull it out when I knew that I couldn't 2. It was weird just to be able to sip a few swallows, weird but good. 3. I was incredibly tired. Walking a little bit really made me exhausted. I made myself rest and it helped. 4. I did feel nauseated LOTS 5. I actually ate lots of gross things that first month trying to get into my protein in. Chicken babyfood comes to mind mixed with cream of mushroom soup BUT all of the problems were so worth it. I know that I didn't have any real complications, I was lucky. I think that even if I had had complications, I would still have done it over. Life is so good now Mary

Mary you are so awesome!!! 5 biggest inconveniences after surgery... 1. the pesky drain 2. the gas pains!! 3. feeling extremely tired!!! 4. having a difficult time getting in clear liquid proteins....they all tasted way too sweet! 5. having to cook for my family. The good thing is....I had to really think about this because now they don't seem so bad. Life IS GOOD!! Melissa

1. The drain tube was bothersome. I thought I would pull it out too until they took it out. It was in there good. It didn't hurt when they took it out. 2. Those sweet sweet juices they give you to drink. My goodness them things were sweet. Made me nauseated. 3. The nausea I had for the first month drove me crazy. Literally. 4. After going home everything that hit my pouch felt real weird and would cause a huge wave of nausea. 5. I was so drained and tired I could hardly get out of bed. But I must say after a hard time I am glad I did it. I feel better. No more blood pressure med or diabetes med. I can move better. And I have only lost 54 pounds. So imagine the outcome later on. And the best part is meeting all the Sc girls. I wouldn't want to go back and change not getting to know all of them wonderful people. Heres to us all...... We will all be with you during your surgery. Maybe not present but in spirit. God Bless and keep you safe. Love Jennifer Vallentine

1. EXHAUSTION, EXHAUSTION, EXHAUSTION ... Oh Yeah, then there was EXHAUSTION! (took me 10 months to get over the exhaustion, but much of that was due to very strong heart medications/heart condition on top of the surgery & low calories), BUT, BEING TIRED/EXHAUSTED IS A VERY COMMON COMPLAINT AFTER GASTRIC BYPASS - HOLD ON, IT DOES GET BETTER!!! 2. GROUCH POUCH ... I had a very temperamental pouch that didn't like much of anything for about 3 months, so I stayed on soups & very soft foods like fish for a lot longer than most but it wasn't really that bad cuz I actually love cream soups & seafood. 3. SUGAR DUMPING ... I dumped on just about anything that wasn't protein & I dumped terribly - got really, really sick. So, I couldn't eat SOFT FOODS like rice, grits, oatmeal, potato salad - nothing in the WHITE CARB CATAGORY AT ALL. That made my choices very slim, but I really didn't mind because I was losing weight - later, I was amazed at the vast variety of SUGAR-FREE & NO-SUGAR-ADDED products which makes making wiser choices so easy! 4. ATTITUDE ... Actually, this was a good one for me, but I see many who struggle with this ... My attitude was that NOTHING WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN REGAINING MY HEALTH, MY LIFESTYLE & BEING ACTIVE AGAIN so, I didn't care what foods I had to give up or what foods I had to eat ... IT WAS THE GOAL, THE END RESULT THAT MATTERED TO ME. If you see this journey as a burden, as a pain, as limiting your life because you can't cram chocolate or french fries in your mouth like you did before surgery, then you are going to be miserable & unhappy no matter how healthy you get or how much weight you lose (&, you're going to make the rest of us miserable listening to your complaining) ... BUT, BUT, BUT ... IF YOU SEE THIS AS THE BLESSING IT TRULY IS, THEN YOU ARE GOING TO FIND HAPPINESS & JOY LIKE NEVER BEFORE ... YOU'LL BECOME MORE CONFIDENT, FIND THE "REAL" YOU, TRY & ACCOMPLISH THINGS YOU NEVER THOUGHT YOU'D DO ... LIFE WILL BECOME A WONDEROUS ADVENTURE ... THE CHOICE IS UP TO YOU! ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING! GOD BLESS YOU ... DAWN & NICk

COULDN'T THINK OF 5, BUT 4 WILL DO ... THIS IS THE GREATEST IDEA, MS MARY ... LOVE YOUR LISTS ... HELPS US ALL!!! THANKS SWEET LADY!!! I'M DOING TAXES RIGHT NOW ... THEN, LET ME GET THROUGH EASTER HOLY WEEK CUZ WE DO A LOT AT CHURCH DURING THIS BLESSED SEASON ... THEN, WE'LL GO TO LUNCH LIKE I PROMISED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOD BLESS YOU ... DAWN & NICk

1. that durned drain 2. the fatigue! 3. need to drink all tha****er, but not being able to 4. the yucky clear liquid protien supplements 5. cooking for the family, but not nibbling while I cooked Of course, all that passes. I actually had to sit here and think to remember them all. Kathy

I hope I can come up with 5 inconveniences! It's only been 4.5 months but the bad times fade fast! 1) Of course, the drain tube. I think mine was messed up or there was too much in me because I could hardly breathe while I had it in - for 8 days!!! But once it came out I was good to go! 2) Asking my ex-husband to help me change the bandage over my drain tube. I couldn't see what I was doing because of my big boobs! 3) Trying to get my fluids in. Forget the protein. It was all I could do to drink water. I did try the 2.7 oz protein bullets - that helped. 4) Not being able to lay on my side to sleep. It felt like my insides were too loose. 5) Not wearing normal clothes for about 2 weeks, until the swelling went down. I lived in big pj's, dresses, anything that didn't bind around my waist. Good luck, Tanya. I'm sure you will do fine. I'm not gonna lie to you - you will probably not feel great for the first few days or a week but it will get better! Susan

Thanks Susan. I'm sorry but I had to laugh about the big boobs thing. I'm sure thats gonna be one of my problems as well. HAHA. But I wasn't aware there were bandages to be changed. And I thought the drain tube only stayed in for 2-3 days. But when I asked Dr Morgan yesterday she told me I would get it out on the 17th. I think I'm gonna puke everytime I look at that darn thing. But I do believe my stay in the hospital is gonna be a vacation away from KIDS. After this week being Spring break and having both home I'm ready.

1. THE DRAIN - mine had a kink and was draining back into me instead of out. 2. The Gauze and Tape around the drain - like taking off a band-aid a couple of times a day. 3. PROTEIN - PROTEIN - PROTEIN - had a tough time finding something I could tolerate. 4. Did someone mention EXHAUSTION - I thought I'd have to nap climbing the stairs to get to the 5. Watching the kids finish off all of the things that they knew I wasn't going to buy anymore - Funny how my 9 year old can't tell the difference now between no sugar snacks and what was in the house before. I'm only 8 weeks out and I had to rack my brain to come up with these - Just listen to your body and your pouch. Much love and prayers coming your way. Colleen

Funny, I had a hard time thinking of 5 too. Here goes.... 1. The dreaded drain, of course. 2. Tired, Tired, Tired. 3. Too much Cream of (anything) soup. 4. Thanksgiving was right after my surgery and the food was hard to deal with. 5. Oh no, I can't think of anymore.... Good Luck Tanya, it will ALL be worth it! Susann