Janel M
This is just a precurser to say that I had my surgery with Dr. Ramanathan out of Magee who was wonderful! He and his team, as well as my endocrinologist, Dr. Salata and her fellow did a tremendous job with my surgery!! My story starts out below with a different physician so I wanted to preface with this.
I already met with Dr. Raftopolous who says I'm a very good candidate for surgery. I've gone through most of my pre-insurance approval testing and just have a stress test and a nutrition consult to complete before my information is sent into insurance. I'm a Type I diabetic and was diagnosed when I was 6 years old. I'm on an insulin pump and am having a little trouble finding any information on patients with Type I diabetes. My surgeon is in the group at UPMC Shadyside, Dr. Raftopolous, but I haven't found anyone on this site who has had him for a surgeon.
10-04-94
Well, I went through an EGD, cardiac stress test, nutrition consult, and an upper GI. Now I'm just waiting for my surgeon to get all of my results so schedule the surgery.
I've been reading on the message board every day trying to get more information, useful tips, etc.
My parents, sisters, and friends are mostly onboard. I've been heavy all my life, thin a couple of times but since I was put on the pump in 2000 my weight has consistently gone up and up and up. I feel that I really don't lead a life. I work, go home, watch TV and sleep.....that's it. I've always been an emotional eater. I eat out of boredome...I eat out of lonliness.
I'm hoping this is going to be my new lease on life and from what I'm reading from most of the members, I think I'm on the right track.
10/21/04
Well For the second time this week I drove an hour and a half to Pittsburgh for no reason at all. First was an appointment to an eye doctor. When I opened the door there we, no exaggeration 45 people in the waiting room and the receptionist says "we're running 3 hours behind". At that rate I wouldn't have been seen until 5:00 or 6:00 let alone how much more behind he would get with all those people ahead of me. So I rescheduled and left.
Today, I was off to Pittsburgh again to meet with my surgeon. Over the last couple of weeks I've been questioning my decision to go with this doctor because I couldn't find anyone else who had him for a surgeon. So I got there with my list of questions in hand. If you haven't read, I'm a 30+ year Type I diabetic and along with researching my surgeon, I have some truly important questions regarding the diabetes and thyroid disease. My mom was with me and we drove another hour and a half down there (not to mention how much we spent in gas and tolls). We waited in the waiting room for half an hour...no problem. Then they brought us back to the little exam room. The nurse came in and said "what is the reason for your visit today"....I was like, "he called and wanted to see me". Then I asked, "How long has the doctor been performing this surgery?" and she said, "Oh, for quite a while, at least a year".....hmmmm a year; I wondered in my mind is this good enough for me.
Well we ended up sitting in that room for an hour and 45 minutes. Now, there were only 2 other people there and they had both left after seeing the doctor. I was sitting there (having already had some concerns about this surgeon) so I said a little prayer to God and wondered if this was his way of telling me not to go with this surgeon. Then I said well, If he doesn't show up in the next 10 minutes, I'm leaving. 10 minutes went by...I said it again...giving him another 5 minutes. I opened the door....no one was around. So I said to my mom, "Let's go!" She said "are you sure"? and I said, "I don't want to put my life in the hands of a physician who doesn't have the courtesy to at least have a nurse pop her head in and say "he'll be a few minutes". My mom said, "well, if that's how you feel about it, lets go". I went to the front desk and said "I'm leaving" and some nurse I hadn't seen before said "OK".........never even asked my name. It took me another hour and a half to drive home and no one from the office called me or anything. I guess God gave me my answer.
In actuality, I was already looking into another doctor in a bigger hospital. I already had the paperwork filled out but was waiting to visit this doctor once again. My ducks are all in a row, all of my testing (and then some) is completed and I have insurance approval.
I kinda feel at ease. I'd been questioning this doctor (not the surgery) for some time and from the other profiles and posts that I've read you need to be completely confident in your surgeon, I was not and I don't want to compromise my care for speed. Anyway, that's were things are so far.
11-02-04
Well, since I've made the decision to change doctors I'm feeling much better. I called yesterday to see if they received all of my information yet and, of course, they needed to "check" and get back to me.
On a different note. I'm feeling much more hopeful. For months I've been feeling so ugly and fat and unsocial but this past weekend has changed that, at least for today. I had an old boyfriend from 20 years ago come in from California. Originally I didn't want to see him...rather, I didn't want him to see me but, I agreed to meet with him and ended up having a great time. I told him some of the struggles I'm going through and he said that he still thought I was as pretty as I ever was and didn't look any older. That was uplifting. Then 2 days later 10 of us got dressed up for Halloween. I went as a stewardess and dressed a friend up as a drunken pilot. I used to have a bit of a crush on him but imagine my surprise when he kissed me a few times and told me how talented I was (in making the costumes for all of us).
Then, last night, another old flame stopped over and we ended up talking for 4 hours. I told him about my pursuit of surgery and he was very encouraging and supportive...then.....HE kissed me...
I have to say, I'm kinda shocked....I'm the fat girl who never gets paid any attention to much less be kissed twice.
I'm feeling pretty good today. Hopefully the surgeon's office will call me today to put a cherry on top of this whole thing.
11-09-04
Well, I called the surgeon's office this morning to see if they had called my insurance company and guess what, they already have my surgery scheduled. My NEW birthday will be December 2.
I'm excited and terrified all at the same time. I started making phone calls to my family and friends and I feel so jittery. Wow, now I know for sure it's going to happen. So many things are swirling through my head...
11/23/04
I went to Pittsburgh on Friday to meet with my surgeon. They informed me that they changed the date and place of my surgery. Now it'll be November 29 at Magee. I don't mind, I'll be glad to have it overwith. I met Dr. Ramanathan and he was very nice and very knowledgable. I was in Pittsburgh again all day Monday. I met with the anesthesia nurses. I think I'm beginning to get overwhelmed. I have so many things to do and I'm completely exhausted. I'm not sure if it's from all the information I've absorbed in the last 4 days or if it's Thanksgiving or the surgery, or everything combined. I feel like I could sleep until the surgery on Monday. I'm excited but I guess it's the waiting game now. Anyway, this is just an update. I doubt I'll get anohter chance to post before surgery so I'll update when I get back.
12-05-04
Well, I had my surgery 6 days ago and everything went well. I don't remember any part of the surgery or recovery. I was sent home on Wednesday with my insulin pump cut in 1/2. My blood sugars are generally running 80-110 (that's never happened in 30 years). My first night home was miserable. I wanted to reverse the surgery. I guess I was just frightened and a little dehydrated and the 2 hour drive home in rush hour traffic. I ended up in the local ER around 1 AM and they told me it was gas....GAS... The doctor told me not to take any pain medicine so I didn't. I just paced for 6 hours. Finally, I took a little of the medicine and fell asleep. I have to say that every day I'm feeling better and better and think I'm doing much better than I thought I would.
My only real pain is one particular spot that is very sharp and directly opposite where the drain is entered. I'm hoping that this pain is from the drain and that hopefully, they'll take it out tomorrow and that pain will be gone or at least diminished.
I lost 8 pounds before the surgery. I'm really not hungry but am getting my liquids in and feel good. Dr. Ramanathan and his team are wonderful!!
01/11/05
I guess I'm now in that tired/depressed phase of this process. All I want to do is stay in bed! I saw my surgeon last week and he said I was doing well but just about every time I eat, I get sick. I just want to lay down. (It doesn't help that I fell in the shower over the weekend and I'm sore) but I just want to be in bed all the time. I had my first crying and "why did I do this" episode Saturday afternoon. It's not that I'm regretting the surgery, but I just hate eating. I'd rather drink water all day long and never eat. I came back to work last week and I didn't make it on time once. I just wanted to stay in bed. I wish I had more energy so I could make more use of this "honeymoon phase" and exercise but I'm just too darn tired. My insulin is down to 39 units a day and I'm no longer insulin resistant I feel good as long as I'm not trying to eat.
3/3/05
I wanted to update my profile. Partly because I want to keep track of my journey but also partly because I feel like absolutely no one understands what I'm going through. I've lost about 57-58 pounds but I could care less. I'm so depressed. I have no social interaction with anyone. The only time I get dressed is to go to work. I put my PJ's on as soon as I get home from work and have covered all of my windows with dark blankets. I guess this weather doesn't help either, it's so cold and snowy. My friends quit asking me to go anywhere because they know I'll say no. I have good intentions but when it comes to the weekend, the thought of getting a shower and getting dressed to go out exhausts me. As well, I haven't been feeling good. Every week it's something different...one week everything I eat makes me sick. This past week and a half, I've had horrible diarrhea. It seems to never end. I know I'm severely depressed but I'm already on two antidepressants and I work in a psychiatrist's office so if I don't want everyone at work knowing my business, I have to go to another town. On top of that, I'm so broke; I work full time but used to have a great medical transcription business. Over the last few years, all of my doctors have moved away or gone to a digital voice recognition system. I don't know that anyone will read my profile because I lurk all day but rarely post anything so I guess I'm just writing this for myself. All I can do is hope that I'll feel better and start exercising when the weather breaks.
04/29/05
I guess time really helps everything (that and a good psychiatrist). I talked to the psychiatrist in my office and she put me on some different medications and things have gotten better. I've lost about 70 pounds overall and am down to a 16 in my jeans. I'm going out a little more and starting to be more socially interactive. I went to see my endocinologist 2 weeks ago and she is so pleased with my progress. My diabetes hasn't been this good in 30 years. My hemoglobin A1c went from 11 to 7.8 (getting closer to normal).
I guess I'm really glad I had this done but I should say that I really CAN eat more than I thought I should be able to so I have to be very careful.
06/29/04
Sorry to not have updated in a long time. I'm down to 175# and feeling great!! I'm ito a size 13P jeans and have to stop myself from shopping! I haven't had many problems these last few months [knock on wood]. I feel I'm doing well. I'm getting out and meeting people. I sometimes overhear my friends or aquaintences talking if I'm in the vicinity and they'll say "doesn't Janel look great" or "Oh my God, she looks wonderful". ***and I got kissed*** They guy was young (26) and I'm 36 but hell, who cares... he was cute!! The great thing, though is that I FEEL good. My diabetes is still getting better and better. My insulin had to be lowered again. I got a new insulin pump and it's working great. It tests your sugar right on the pump. I know I've added at least 10 years to my life. I thank Dr. Ramanathan and the entire staff at MaGee for changing my life!
08/22/05
I updated my pctures so I thought I'd update my profile too. I've been on a plateau for about 3 weeks now. I'm hoping the weightloss will pick up again. I've been having some trouble with my sugars dropping low so I'm gonna have to drop my insulin again. Nothing really new to add. Went on vacation with my girlfriends and detected a "little bit" of an attitude (not sure if it was jealousy or what) but it was a good time. My family is really proud of me. I really wanted to go to the OH conference over the weekend but Cincinnatti was just too far for me to go. Will update more when I can.
08/25/05
I did it. Today I hit 100# loss. I really can't believe it. I feel great physically but I kinda thought I'd be at a better place emotionally (just more proof that this is surgery on our bellies, not our brains).
11/28/05
I thought I should update my profile today as it was a year ago today that I had my surgery. One year ago right now, I was my surgeon's table hoping to wake up to an uneventful recovery and I did. It seems like it was just last week....even though it was 108 pounds ago. I thought my life would be a lot different; and it is physically, but emotionally I'm still in the same place and still see the same girl. I'm very happy to have this new chance at life and am seeing a psychologist to help me through the emotional stuff. Feeling better does help! Thank you to all of you who have encouraged me along the way.
03/09/06
Just an update. I'm down 116.5 pounds to 150.5. I can't move that damn scale thing down to the 100 + part. I hope once spring arrives that I'll be more motivated to do some exercise. I really need to do something about this depression. I need to take advantage of the new life that God has given me but I can't seem to get a handle on getting excited about my life (as Dr. Phil would say). I just work, go home, watch TV and go to bed. Every day, day after day, and all weekend. I need to get out and meet people.....after all, Mr. Right's not gonna waltz into my living room. There's something wrong inside of me and I don't know what it is. I don't know why, even now, I don't see anything in myself to like about myself. At any rate, I'm just rambling.