As most of you new, last Wednesday I had my port replaced.  It never gets easier.  Even though I knew this would be a quick in and out, no overnight hospital stay, I was still extremely nervous.  I showed up at the hospital at 7:25 for my 7:30 AM check in at admitting after showering and blow drying my hair.  Experience has taught me that the rest of the day, and the next one, until I was allowed to shower, would be much more pleasant if I showered first.  So in I walked, with hair perfect, no coffee, and no make-up, in sweats because it is always freezing at the hospital.  Put my name on the list and waited to be called.  I was the only patient there so I was clueless as to why I waited, and yes, impatient as per my usual modus operandi.

When I was finally called to an admitting desk to start the dreaded paperwork the first thing I noticed was that the doctor’s name on my labels was nothing even remotely like my doctor’s name.  I asked who that was, the clerk checked the paperwork and said, “Good thing you caught that, we’ll change it right away.”  At this point I was getting out the marking pen to put a big red X over my port area and write replace me with a good one please.  Since I have ultimate trust in Dr. Billy I did no such thing, but made the decision that I was taking nothing for nervousness if offered before I got to see Dr. Billy.  Safety first.

I went back to pre-op when called and then it all began.  Answer more questions, hop on the dreaded scale, get undressed, get up on the gurney and let’s get this show on the road.  IV started (fluids only), still checking Facebook on my phone, passing the time, speaking with all of the folks who are personal friends and also work at the hospital, made two trips to the rest room - IV in hand, and finally, here comes the doc and the anesthesiologist.  Once I spoke with the surgeon, and the anesthesiologist reminded me he had been the one during my lower body lift surgery (if he could keep me alive for 10 hours on the table, he should have no problems for 15-20 minutes, right) I relaxed until I realized, this was IT.  I was headed into surgery again.  Fortunately the anesthesiologist asked if I wanted something for nerves and whipped out his trusty syringe of versed.  I guess the drip on my IV was slow enough that it took a while to kick in but finally I laid back and it was time for the OR…..of course, next thing I remember was waking up in recovery, unable to focus my eyes, sore, bloated but not really too bad.

I was back in my house by 3:30 PM, thirsty, crabby and sore.  I took a dose of liquid pain meds to sleep through the night, and Thursday dawned bright and cheery.  I was not hungry.  That is always a good sign.  As the day wore on and I sipped on protein and water and more protein and herbal tea, went to Costco and Sam’s club shopping, came home and facilitated a telephone support group.  I began to doubt myself.  It took until Friday morning to realize that this was the post-anesthesia “blues” I seem to always get.  I had to remember to keep sipping protein and water throughout the day and this was a good thing because it meant I was not hungry.  I was still more bloated than I remember, and still have some of the bloating today, although it’s mostly gone.

Just like every other weight loss surgery patient I have jumped on the scale with religious fervor every morning and have been happy as the numbers start going down.  What else would I expect when I am consuming between 900 and 1100 calories, 80-100 grams of protein, 68-90 ounces of water and walking a bit every day.  I am just like all of you out there, and am happy to see the results paying off on the scale.  More importantly, I am thrilled to not be walking around in a constant state of hunger.  This is why I chose to have the surgery to replace the port when my band was not holding fluid.  I could do the 1200 calories thing on my own at 9 years post-op EXCEPT that it was not easy to keep myself satisfied.  The band helps provide that for me.  When I feed it properly (I am still on soft foods, but will progress next week to some more solid foods) with protein first, chew each bite slowly, keep processed foods and any added sugar out of my mouth, and limit my calories I can stay satisfied for 3-4 hours and a small amount of food gets me to that enough place.

What am I doing differently than before I replaced my port?  Well, knowing that I have some fluid in my band and not wanting to get stuck, and not knowing my limits yet, I am chewing ALL of the soft foods, putting my fork down between bites and putting only a measured amount on my plate.  If you think it’s easy to chew cottage cheese you are WRONG!

The possibilities are limitless.  This time I plan on getting to 15 pounds below my lowest previous weight.  Come join me on this newest journey to maintaining and constantly improving my health.