Quick Update: So THIS is what sleep feels like

Last night was my second full night with my CPAP mask and I must say I feel amazing today.  I have tons of energy and I don't feel sore/achy for no reason. 

I emailed my mom this morning and told her that I really love my CPAP and she thought I said CRAP.  I'm pretty sure she was not only wondering why I was telling her this, but also why the hell do I love my crap so much??  It's called a positive attitude, mom...heard of it?  Geez.


-Mon

You look hot in that mask

So it's been like 3 weeks since I've posted anything--the days have just sort of been flying by.  Mostly in a good way.  Here's what's new with me:

I had an endoscopy 2 weeks ago to see if I have hiatal hernia, which means my stomach sits too high in my abdomen or something like that.  I do have it, and my surgeon said he would take care of it when he does my surgery.

A friend and I started a new website last week, based on a conversation we have been having for a while now, about how we don't feel like real adults.  For example, I think most adults probably don't shove trash in between the couch cushions when they don't feel like throwing it away.  You are most welcome to visit out site and contribute!  It's called Grownups Don't. 

I did a sleep study on Monday night and found out I have SEVERE OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA.  I don't think it's supposed to be in all caps like that, but that's how it sounded to me when the tech was explaining it.  So now I get to sleep wearing a CPAP, which sort of looks like a gas mask, only it has pink straps because I'm a lady even when I'm sleeping, damn it!

Feelin pretty and sleepin through the night!

I found out my surgery will at the beginning of April.  My surgeon will be out of town for a whole week in March and wouldn't be able to get me in until the last week of the month.  My BF and I are going to Chicago April 1 for a concert so that won't quite work, so post-Chicago it is.  Waiting to hear back about the exact date; they had to look over the results from my sleep study first.

I'm saying goodbye to bread, and it pains me.  The past couple of weeks I've been baking away...pizza dough, focaccia and my ultimate favorite: soft pretzels.  With a cheddar-beer sauce.  the pictures:

That about sums it up...I promise I won't wait another 3 weeks to post.  I'll have my date soon and I'll definitely want to shout about it. 

-Mon 



So fresh and so clean (clean)

There's no particular reason for the title of this post other than that is the song currently stuck in my head.  It's been persistent this morning.

I've been making a lot of smoothies for breakfast lately and this morning's was a real winner.  Frozen strawberries, blood orange sorbet, a small scoop of frozen juice concentrate (pineapple-orange), vanilla greek yogurt, sugar-free cranberry juice and ice.  Oh, and a couple slices of banana, because I don't like things that are very banana-y...except bananas.  And banana bread/muffins.  Anyway, my smoothie was delicious and a great way to start my Friday.

I just checked weather.com to see what the weekend was gonna be like and the front page is always plastered with winter weather warnings for different parts of the country.  I like that the Weather Channel is here to keep us informed, but I kind of feel like they feed off our fear.  It always seems like they're going out of their way to frighten everyone into never leaving their house again.  I think that, if they were allowed to, they would post something like this whenever you type in your zip code/city:

-Mon



On track

Sooooo I went to my appointment with my surgeon yesterday.  I think maybe the one great thing about being a self-pay patient is things go rather quickly.  It was early-mid December when I decided I wanted to get the lap band, and now it's only the very beginning of February and we're looking at being able to do the surgery in about a month.  That's pretty fast, considering this is something that will change my life.  Not that I'm complaining...I feel like I have spent my entire life coming to this decision, and now that I've made it I don't want to stall.

Anyway, I have to get an endoscopy next week, and do a sleep study to see if I have sleep apnea.  Once I have those things taken care of, I'll come in for a follow-up with Dr. Scott and he'll get my surgery on the calendar as soon as he can.  The nurse said I can expect to have my surgery in about a month, and I'm estimating more like 6 weeks just in case things don't go super smoothly.  I asked if I should follow any specific eating plan between now and then and he said that I could eat normally all the way up until 3 days prior to surgery, when he'll put me on liquids.  I know from reading some of your experiences that some surgeons prescribe a low carb, high protein, etc. diet for the weeks leading up to surgery...can some of you chime in with comments and give me some advice on stuff that worked for you?  It would be nice to get a head start.

On a completely non-weight loss surgery related note, my BF Charles cracked me up last night.  We were watching a commercial for an SUV that has one of those rear-camera monitors on the dash, so you can see things behind you and avoid hitting them.  So there was a woman who looked on the monitor and saw a boy on his bike and stopped suddenly until he safely passed by.  Charles says "I think I would be so confused by this at first.  I'm so used to looking over my shoulder that I'd all of the sudden be watching this monitor and thinking 'Hey, I really like this show about the boy being run over by a car!  Wait, what happened to my bumper and why is there blood everywhere?'" 

One last thing--today is my little brother's birthday!!  He is 28 today.  Here are some pictures from when our family got together at his house on Saturday

Mike with his beautiful girlfriend Mel

 

Me and Mel

Mike and Charles

Mike and our Mom

Happy Birthday Mikey, I love you :)

-Mon