So, it wasn't a stomach bug.

That whole thing last week where I thought I had a stomach bug? Wrong. Very wrong.

Friday, I felt sick and tried to rest. Same on Saturday. I called the doctor on call, and she said to wait it out for 24 hours and see if it might be a stomach bug. On Saturday night, my fever went up to 101.1. Along with the pain when swallowing and just pain in general, I thought it was time to go to the ER. Unfortunately, all of my symptoms coincided with a leak, which can be really serious. I had a fever, pain in my tummy, overall fatigue, and left shoulder pain. This had me really worried.

Mom came down and took me to Barnes. The ER wait was pretty long, but eventually I got in and got a cat scan. They were able to see a pocket of fluid indicating a leak or an abscess. By this time it was almost midnight. They put me in the hospital overnight to monitor me. On Monday morning, I went in for a barium swallow (always pleasant!) and the news was good: no leak! So it's either an abscess or a blood clot. The doctors thought they might drain it with a needle or put a surgical drain in, but they decided that it was too close to other organs and too much of a risk.

They wanted to monitor me another night. In my typical fashion, I kept the nurses running for barf pans and Zofran. I puked 3 times in the hospital. It may be just because I'm not eating anything or because the abscess is causing me pain. Who knows. They sent me home on Tuesday morning with an intense antibiotic, Zofran, and an anti-fungal. So I get to suck down 4 pills a day. Yippee!

The bad thing about all of this is that Thursday I went to Peoria for the All-State conference. I just got back home. Luckily, I was able to get some rest in the hotel. My body was just not up for walking around downtown Peoria for miles in the freezing ass cold. I did get to reunite with some Millikin-ites, which was nice.

I am feeling better. I threw up on the drive up to Peoria on Thursday, but have managed to stay barf-free since then. I have to keep drinking milk to keep protein in me, and that seems to keep the nausea away. The doctor put me back on an all liquids diet, which was a pain being in Peoria. I had milk with me everywhere. I did some soup, which went okay.

I go back to the doctor on Tuesday. Hopefully I'll get to go back to soft foods. Guess it all depends on how I am feeling.

The stats... 38 pounds post-op, 46 total!

And one month later...

Today is my one month "surgiversary!"

The stats: 30 pounds are gone since surgery. 38 pounds since my highest weight. Happy!

On Thursday evening, I started feeling like poo. On Friday morning, I felt more like poo. Today, I feel even more like poo. I think I have a stomach bug, but it has been worrying me a little. It's impossible to tell if this is something related to surgery or a bug. I called my doctor's office and they said to go on clear fluids and wait it out a few days. If it's still happening on Tuesday, I need to go see the doctor. Crossing my fingers this is just a bug. Lots of kids have been out with the whole stomach flu thing. But I can tell you it's pretty unpleasant on a tummy that had surgery 1 month ago. :(

Other than this, I have been feeling great! I am moving down in sizes. Soon it will be time for some new pants, which is exciting.

I would like to lose another 40 pounds before my vacation to the Dominican Republic in June. Goals!

Hmph.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't feeling a little discouraged right now.

I have only lost one pound in the last week. Now, the doctor told me that I will have scale victories and clothing victories. I am definitely seeing and feeling the weight loss in my clothing, which is exciting. But the weight loss has slowed down so much that it's frustrating.

I'm a member of a support group on facebook, and many of them have said that this is normal. But still!

I am, overall, feeling better. My back doesn't ache as much and neither do my feet. I have more energy.

Tomorrow I go to soft foods! Yay.

So, my official weight loss is 32 pounds and 24 post-op.

Sweet tooth, are you there?

The craziest part of all of this is that I don't really have a sweet tooth anymore. It's amazing and exactly the opposite of what I thought would happen. I crave savory foods - meats and veggies mostly.

I graduate to soft foods on Friday! Woo. I have been cheating a little and not eating totally pureed food the whole time. I eat a lot of the Laughing Cow light cheese - it's the perfect portion size for me.  I also do a ton of greek yogurt with truvia. Lots of eggs, too. Also, my peanut butter and jelly on a spoon creation - natural peanut butter and sugar-free preserves on a spoon.

The weight loss has slowed down, sadly enough. I am down 31 pounds total, 23 pounds post-op. But, I figure that is normal. I'm definitely taking in more calories than I did on the liquid diet. I'm hoping to lose two pounds a week consistently for a few months.

I'm feeling good still. I pushed myself a little too hard last week and got really tired, but I had the weekend to rest. School is going well. Beauty and the Beast rehearsals started today! So excited for this show!

I'm also planning my vacation this summer. Jen and I are hopefully going to the Dominican Republic to a resort for a week. It will be like a celebration for me and my weight loss journey.

Onward!

2 weeks out

The 2 week update:

I am astonished at how good I feel. I go back to school tomorrow and I feel ready. I'm ready to see my kids and get this semester started. I will be more tired than normal, that's for sure, but I am not having any sort of pain. Life is almost normal for me.

Officially I am 30 pounds down today. 22 post-op.

For anyone who thinks this is a quick fix to being obese and that it's no work... You are sorely mistaken. The mental work I have gone through over the past two weeks has been some of the hardest ever. It takes soul searching and almost a makeover on your whole persona. I am changing my outlook from living to eat to eating to live.

Right now I'm getting myself a pedicure in preparation for an insane semester at school! Happy new year!