This is me

i began my wls journey in Jan of 2009 when i attended a seminar on WLS. my initial appointment was Feb 13th for the consult with the doctor, behavior health people and dietician. my insurance required a 6 month diet period, i didn't have to lose weight but the big rule was not to gain any weight. i messed up on my 2nd diet appointment and gained 1 pound, one pound and i had to restart the diet visits because the insurance would not approve me since i had gained one pound. this put my potential surgery from September to end of Nov early Dec. i was devastated by this, i felt disappointed in myself for not taking the 6 month phase seriously, so i tried to be better. i won't lie here and say it was easy and that i stuck to eating better, believe me for the 2 weeks after my dietician visit i would eat like crap, eat everything i wanted to eat and more then the 2 weeks before i would cut down and eat healthy, one week before i would do adkins shakes and one meal a day. i know this isn't healthy, but it's what i knew to do. i also know its bad to do this to my body, but i also feel like i was able to eat what i enjoyed so that i wouldn't miss it so much after the surgery, i didn't want to feel like surgery was bad and depriving me of all those bad foods i love. i began at a weight of 344, gained the lb and went to 345, by my last diet visit i was at 329. it wasnt a huge weight loss but it was enough to be close to what the doctor wanted me to weigh. my insurance approval came in november 23rd and i scheduled surgery for dec 8th preoop appt for dec 3rd. i also began my liquid diet the day after thanksgiving so i could enjoy that day, i didn't gorge myself i served myself just enough to enjoy it. the liquid diet wasn't so bad, the doctor allowed for one small palm sized meal a day and 3 shakes or bars a day. he also said that if we wanted to get one last big meal in before surgery to do that at least 3 days before surgery, so i had my favorite food and that was that. surgery was dec 8th @3pm and aside from them having trouble getting my iv in, it was a uneventful surgery meaning nothing out of the ordinary occured and there were no complications. i was in the hospital for 2 days, was up and walking slowly that night, walking alot the next day. i was also off iv fluids and pain pump the next afternoon so it was easier to get up by myself and walk. i went home on dec 10th and it's been torture to see the scale not move and actually be a lb more than day of surgery. i know this is because of the whole your body retains water after surgery and it takes 4 to 7 days to go away. my 1st post op appointment is dec 21st and i look forward to it. i'm being realistic about how much weight i'll have lost, i've only had liquids and broth since surgery and plan on not transitioning to phase 2 mushy protein until after my 1st post op appointment. so i'm hoping it'll be at least 10 lbs lower than surgery day. i was surprised by the pain difference from the hospital and home stay. i forgot that i was also getting pain injection into my iv and the oral stuff when i needed, so i felt great in the hospital! at home it was a little different, but i also realized that i was using only 2 Tsp instead of 2 Tbsp for my pain meds. i'm now trying to ween my self off the meds so i can drive and get out on my own so i don't feel so isolated. i haven't hit the depression stage yet, and i hope not to but i'm prepared for it. i haven't really been alone since i've been home so i've been active, but tomorrow will be the 1st real day where i'm alone all day. been getting all my vitamins in, just hard keeping track of the day so i'm working on getting better at that, also fluid intake is okay but working on that too. so here i am, i've probably written a way too long intro to myself, but i'll post it as is any way. if you made it this far and have read everything i appreciate it!