angelajula
Hi my name is Stacie. I'm 32 years old originally from St. Louis Mo. I am currently living in Baltimore MD.
I did Weight Watchers for years and I really can't knock it. It does work, but it takes constant commitment, and I sometimes need a forced commitment, such as a friend doing it with you. After many years of trying, and finally hearing that surgery might be covered by insurance, I decided surgery was worth the risk.
I just had Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass surgery on Dec 6th, and I am doing really well.
My starting weight when I first started dieting before surgery was 361.2. To date (12/13/2011) I've lost 30 lbs.
I'm looking for any help or tricks I can receive to make this new outlook really worth it.
I am also going to school at ITT Tech for a Computer and Electronics Engineering Technology degree. So life is feeling fuller and more worth it all the time.
I am currently on a full liquid diet until this Sunday and then I can start the puree diet, and I cannot wait to get back to real food.
I'd like to walk more, but after a few days my feet feel tore up, so I'm looking forward to swimming. Not yet though, because my incisions are still healing. I'm looking forward to the puree diet, and am so sick of full liquids, but I said the same thing before the clear liquids were over. I haven't had any vomiting and my nausea is not that bad, more so in the morning before I drink than anything. Also no dumping yet, although I hear sooner or later everybody experiences it.
I'm right at that 10% margin where people start to notice weight loss on their own. And I cannot wait. I know you shouldn't wish your life away, but it could be next year already and I would be extremely happy.
My overall experience:
Dr Moein is great. You'll see him only once a day, but he does his follow up. I had some pain after that needed checking on and spent an extra night (3 total) that I wasn't expecting, but at least it was checked. I've heard some stories from random non GBMC customers. If in doubt post surgery about how your feeling, make a big deal of it. Better safe than sorry.
Mike Corso, my RNY buddy was there at the pre op class and in the hospital the same day for surgery. He had an issue, and Dr Moein saved his life, but I'll let him tell you what happened.
Good info for in the hospital:
You wake up after surgery and you may be in shock, meaning you uncontrollably shake as if it was -40 bellow in the room and you were undressed. You'll have a sore throat and a dry mouth from the intubation. No big deal. A little discomfort by comparison. You'll be very sleepy, and it will be very hard to stay awake. I made the mistake of telling the nurse I wanted to get up and walk because it would keep me from falling asleep, and they made me stay in bed for an extra day until I could hold a conversation without my eyes closing every other second. They put these warmer messager wraps on your leggs to keep blood flow going. Those were quite nice. By the time they took them off days later, I wanted them back on.
Even though they said three holes, I officially have five. Two on either side of my belly button, one near the top in the middle of my abdomen, and two on either side and a little lower almost creating a star pattern with all the holes. Post surgery I had a J&P drain in that middle right that was removed a week later. In the hospital, they pin it to your gown. After I got out, I jerry-rigged a string because I hated to have it hang.
Ice chips will be your best friend especially before the catheter comes out. They woke me in what felt like the middle of the night to take it out. Then they give you a menu of foods and on the back page is your bariatric clear liquids list. You may have to wait a day before you get that catheter out. Then they need you to pee, fart and BM.
The Pulse OX/pulse rate machine is a pain. They wanted my pulse rate to stay over 50, but as I fell asleep CPAP or not, it would drop to 47. So all night long as long as I had the pulse ox on, it would go off. Likewise I had the IV pump machine from hell. Constantly the alarm would go off saying that there was air in the line. After a minute of it going off it would get even louder, like hearing it from across the ward loud. And sometimes it would go off again five minutes later. The nurses/techs thought mine was cursed.
The nurses and techs in the ward... make sure they use the red BP cuff to test you. No BP cuff, even if it goes around your arm or fore arm, should start coming unstrapped if they are pressurizing it. If they don't, follow up with the PA (physician's assistant/white coat people) or Dr Moein. Best thing to do is bring a comparison from your primary care Dr with you so you know what to look for. The entire time they used the wrong one to the point that the PA, Kathy, was telling me my life was in grave danger before I left. I had to convince her I knew, and the nurses knew they used the wrong one. And sure enough before I left I got a real BP taken after 3 1/2 days.
If I make it sound as if the nurses were mean spirited or even lazy, I don't think that is so. They were all very nice, maybe just a little too busy. They didn't seem to rest much. Just don't let them become complacent.
Incision pain was no sweat. I had what I felt was very sharp pain in my left side when I breathed though. It did turn out to be gas pains that may have just aggravated some nerves in my shoulder and side. But I had to convince the semi-dismissive nurses that something else might be going on in order to get it checked out. They make you exercise your lungs with a little breathing devise which I could do, but it hurt like hell. If I wasn't exercising my lungs, I breathed shallow from the pain, which was a no-no. That next afternoon Dr Moein had me X-rayed then CT scanned to check it out for me.
The gas pains can get into any part of your body including the joints and aggravate your nerves. Usually people say they had pain in their shoulders post surgery, do lots of walking and message your shoulders.
That's my overall in a nut shell. I plan to go to the RNY support groups at GBMC soon.
Please feel free to ask me anything, I'm very open.
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