Aight.. Pre/Post op tips.. and pictures.

Pre-Op.

The pre-op diet i was on, was i was allowed one under 400 calorie meal a day. 3 protein shakes. and 80ish oz. of sugar free fluids. that being said, on days i actually went by that.. i would have a lean cuisine or something for my meal, which was usually a dinner. but most of the time.. i split it up. i'd have a yogurt in the morning, string cheese later on, and some crackers and cream cheese later on. etc.. but kept it all under 400 calories. I reccomend that.. that was a lot easier for me than only having that one small meal later on. and i think it helped me for eating smaller portions more frequently, for after surgery.

Post-Op.

Just do what you can.. Honestly. Liquids first.. Behing dehydrated isn't fun. I know i was for about a week or so but never did anything about it. I didn't get more than like 20oz in a day for a week. It was miserable. Then worry about getting your protein in. Sip. sip. sip.a nd i know it doesnt seem like it, but walking saves you. It helps the gas move, helps ease the pain.. you would think the oposite right? no. don't think the oposite. I was up walking 2 hours after i woke up in my room. to get into a chair, while in the hospital.. this is how my hospital stay went, walking wise.

Surgery around 7:45am. woke up in recovery around noon. then went to my room not long after, then by 2pm i got up to get in a chair.. sit up straight. then i went back to bed. then around 7:30pm i got up and walked down the hall and back. the next day i got up at 10am and walked.. then sat in the stupid wheelchair for two hours because radiology was slow, and i didnt want to get back into bed. i fell asleep in the wheel chair. went down for the upper gi.. which honestly isnt that bad. (just use the morphine.. i beg you. USE. THE FREAKING. MORPHINE. i denyed myself morphine.. i wanted to see how bad it was... dont test it.. just trust them when they say use it.. if you don't trust them, trust me. At this point in time, morphine will become your best friend.) Don't use the straw.. they'll offer it to you. but you shouldnt. and then got back up and went to the room and passed out.. later on i walked again.. was allowed to have water.. (finally!) then had the catheter removed and all that jazz. (thank. freaking. god. the catheter and the drain were annoying..) then walked some more.. and the next day i was drinking lemonade crystal light, had some orange jello, and got the okay to leave. i had already walked that morning. had the drain removed. and i wakled all the way from the room in the A building i think.. to the gift shop, where i got my lovely tshirt, and then to the parking garage.. My mom tried to get me to use the wheel chair, but iw ouldnt. it felt so good to walk.

Bottom line: WALK. I don't care if it hurts a little or you think it will hurt more.. Okay yes i care. but I can almost 100% guarantee you, unless something went wrong in surgery, the pain will be fixed. take yoru pain meds the way the doctors tell you to, don't overdo it.. but walk. it will help. so much. Even if i eat too much now, walking helps the food-coma feeling pass quicker.

Alright. Next for the postops: You won't want to sleep flat on your back.. I don't have a bed. I sleep on the couch. I have for years. I have a couch in my room,b ut i usually sleep in the living room. long story. but yeah. i slept sitting up on the couch the first week,t hen eased down to my back/side. i used a body pillow when i layed on my side. and within a month i was on my stomach again. i sleep on my stomach. i can't stay asleep while on my back.. (partially what made my sleep study one of the worst nights of sleep i've ever had in my life.)

Aight. scars. don't pick the glue.. just don't. let it be. it takes awhile. it took a few weeks to come off.. on one of the incisions, i picked some of the glue off.. i got too close to the incision and it was painful, so i stopped. and it eventually came of on its own. the pictures i've posted of my incisions don't do them justice. they're seriously just light pink. you can barely see them. i was surprized. When i was researching i saw scar pictures and was kinda horrified. but I wanted the surgery so i was going to deal with it. I already have a ton of stretch marks, so whats it matter, right? well. they're all fading. thankfully. haha.

those are the main things.. I'm gonna post a few pictures now.. A picture of me now. My lovely tattoo i never got to post a picture of (: my scars now, anddd yeah i think thats it. here we go. (:

http://i40.tinypic.com/icmhz4.jpg
--Gotta love nerd glasses. (:
http://i44.tinypic.com/314qb9c.jpg
--I started b12 shots. I forgot to mention that. Once a month. This is the massive needle.. If you decide to go that route.. It's not as bad as it looks. I have no problem with needles. at all. I would rather have a blood test than a urine test for drugs or pregnancy or something. But that honestly freaked me out.. It was thick. And long. But it's not that bad. I barely felt it.
http://i42.tinypic.com/sqtpw2.jpg
--Halloween. If you know me, you now I have a mexican obsession. Mexicans, Spanish, Mexican food, anything mexican. I love it. So i wore a sombrero, while handing out candy. Haha.
http://i40.tinypic.com/sem9ue.jpg
--If you know me (again), you know i have an unhealthy obsession with wearing makeup.. I havent as much lately. Havent felt the need to. And I'm smiling more, I've noticed.n you used to have to act like a complete idiot to get me to laugh to get a pictuer of me smiling.. And whoa! look at that! ashley smiled on her own! wooh.
http://i39.tinypic.com/20577s7.jpg
--Full Body. Pretty much everything has slimmed down except my stomach.. Those pants are literally falling off of me in that picture. they're supposed to be skinny jeans.. Haha.
http://i43.tinypic.com/1z4yico.jpg
--Paper i got today at the doctors office.. Shows my weight since the first time they met me. But they don't have my highest weight on record, which was back in november 2010.. it was liek 278 i believe. Haha.
http://i39.tinypic.com/6zq714.jpg
--scars. yeah. you can only see two. the one ont he left was from the drain. the one on the right is the biggest one i have. you can't see the other three. theres one in my bellybutton, one on my sternum, and one further on my left side.a ll of them are smaller than that one on the right though. and the computer screen was by me, so it makes my skin look pink... my skin is white. i am one of the whitest people you will ever meet (or see pictures of...) whitey mc white. I'm ghostly pale. Not sure why the computer screen does that, but oh well.
http://i40.tinypic.com/ejsikp.jpg
--Lastly, my tattoo. (: I got it one month after surgery. I was supposed to get it on my 16th birthday, but that was 3 days after surgery.. not gonna go get a tattoo while i still have blood thinners in my system. Haha. "Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle." is the original quote. i took out the 'you meet' part to make it a little shorter so it wouldnt be so big, and it'd be more even.  its a plato quote. haha. but i really believe it. thats hwo i try to live my life. 

So yeah. That's that. Hope you have a good day, and feel free to email me if you have any questions or wanna add me on facebook to see more pictures. (:

-Ashley.
ashleyellen1637@aol.com

PS. if you like demi lovato.. talk to me. i have two tickets to her show in chicago. i need more friends that like her.. that would be able to go with me. haha. She'a amazing.<3 okay. done now. bye(: