Gylphling
Onderland at last!!
Dec 13, 2010
I finally made one of my big goals and got under 200 pounds for really the first time in my
Goal for 40th Birthday
Dec 21, 2009
I tried to add this as a goal, but was having problems. I'm 28 pounds away from being under 300 pounds for the first time since my early 20's. I really want to achieve this by my 40th birthday on January 19. I think the weight loss is going a bit slow so far, but I'm sure it's mostly since I'm not as active as I should be. In a way, this month is sort of like vacation time for me so I'm having trouble getting motivated to exercise. I'll be heading back home after Christmas next week so I plan to really step things up then.
Things are still going really well. No food I've tried has really given me any problems, but sometimes I guess I eat a bit too fast and it feels like the food is stuck right up at the top of the sleeve. Also after I eat sometimes I then have trouble swallowing my saliva for a little while and have gag it up and spit it out (not the food, mostly just the saliva).
I worry a little about letting people I've recommended the DS to know how easy things have been for me. I don't want them to have too high expectations in case they have more problems or complications.
Switched and doing great!
Dec 05, 2009
I had my surgery this past Monday, and for the most part things have gone amazingly smoothly. The day of surgery was soo long and was mostly a blurr post-op. I wasn't in really bad pain, but more tenderness and a really sore muscle feeling. I also kept getting nauseous. The nurse got me up at about 11:45 that night to walk and was holding onto me in case I got dizzy but I didn't really have any problems.
The next day I got to do my swallow test. They said that my sleeve was draining but it was pretty slow. I also found out from Dr. Wilson that he had made my sleeve smaller than he usually does with the DS, something to do with the anatomy of my stomach. I'll get more specific info next Wednesday when I have my first post-op appointment and also find out about my common channel. We had discussed at my pre-op appointment that I wanted to go longer on my CC for less possibility of issues with malabsorption. He said he usually does 100cm channel, but would go more toward 125-150cm depending on the overall length. Later that day I got to start on liquids (warm tea) and they had me doing 1oz every 15 minutes. I got about 6oz down and then started getting really nauseous. I started gagging up foamy liquid with brown flecks. I thought it was from the tea, but when Dr. Wilson saw it he said that it was old blood from the surgery. He said to hold off with liquids that day and try again on Wednesday. I gagged up quite a bit of the old blood and I think that was what was causing the slow drainage in my sleeve because when I tried again with liquids the next day, I didn't have any problems. So far I haven't had any issues at all with keeping anything down. Since I was having trouble, Dr. Wilson also said that I would probably not be released until Thursday or Friday. From Wednesday on I did great and got to go home on Thursday.
Everyone kept saying how I was doing great and didn't look or act like someone who had just had major surgery. I never really had any pain and was hardly using any of the morphine by Thursday. I was getting around fine and keeping everything down with out any problems. When my brother took me on Friday to pick up my pain meds for home, we also stopped by Walmart to pick up a few things. I got exhausted pretty quickly and was glad to get back to my mom's house and take a dose of the meds. I still haven't had any real pain or problems beyond tender soreness and fatigue. Bumpy car rides being the worst. Hopefully things will continue to go mostly smoothly and I won't have any major issues come up. I'll keep updating as I go and post pics as soon as my sister gets them downloaded off her camera.
Thanks to everyone for their well wishes!
My switchday is almost here!!
Nov 27, 2009
I'm Approved and Scheduled!
Oct 08, 2009
Tuesday, November 24 will be my last day at work and then my pre-op appointment with the doc and anesthesia clearance is on Nov. 25. The surgery is scheduled for the following Monday, Nov. 30. Guess no turkey and dressing this Thanksgiving. LOL!! I'll be on liquid diet and liquefied turkey doesn't sound too appealing. Maybe my mom can make me some turkey broth.
Pre-op testing complete
Oct 04, 2009
After 2/3 of an IV bag I was able to give the sample and was declared not pregnant. Duh!! Finally after more paperwork and waiting it was my turn to go back and my mom went to get coffe and a snack. They took me to the room for the procedure and put on an oxygen tube, pulse and BP monitors, and heart monitors. Then he gave me the NASTY med to numb my throat and then put in the mouthpiece and straped it around my head. They had me turn over on the left side and put a wedge behind me to hold me up. Finally I was given the medicine in the IV line to knock me out. He said would burn but it was more of just pain going into my hand and up my arm. Very unpleasant, but it just took a few seconds and I was out.
Next thing I knew I was being awakened in the recovery room. My mom said she was only gone for about 15 minutes and had just walked into the waiting room when they called her back. Everything looked okay for the most part. Dr. Wilson found mild gastritis, mild esophagitis, and a hiatus hernia. He said just to continue with the low carb diet I was doing pre-op and start taking Prilosec OTC as a daily acid blocker.
Well other than that and the labwork, hopefully I have everything completed for my pre-operative testing. I just have to finish losing the 19 lbs, Dr. Wilson wanted me to lose and keep in touch with the office staff about the insurance approval. Then just wait to get my surgery date!
It's really happening!
Sep 23, 2009
I had given copies of my records during my appointment last week, but the lady said she couldn’t find anything for 2008. I told her that I didn’t see a doctor during that year, so I wrote up a letter and faxed it to the office so they could send it to the insurance company. I just said that my first visit with the PCP was in early 2007 and prior to that I hadn’t been to a doctor in about five years. I had a follow up in late 2007 and then I did not have any appointments during 2008, though my weight remained in the same range. The next time I went to the doctor was in early 2009.
I also wrote a bit about my mother being my support person and that she went to my initial appointment with Dr. Wilson, the nutritionist, and psychologist. She will also be with me during the endoscope next Friday and the hospital during surgery. I will also be staying with her during the recovery until Dr. Wilson releases me to drive and make the trip back home. I detailed how she had gotten WLS about a year ago and has done really well. I just realized though, that I forgot to tell them that she also used to be an RN about 15 years ago.
I hadn’t had a chance to go get my blood drawn yet for the lab work, so she said that they would like for me to do that ASAP. I went and got it done this morning. I guess the freak out part is just that it’s starting to actually seem real to me and also that things seem to be moving really quickly. So far people keep asking me if I’m nervous and I’ve always said “no” and that I’m just excited and looking forward to getting it done. Yesterday was the first time I did start to feel kind of nervous because it’s just such a big step (in the right direction, of course) and kind of scary.
Had my 1st appointments
Sep 17, 2009
The nutritionist was okay, but the info seemed to be geared more toward the RNY restrictions. They also don't recommend any supplementation beyond chewable multi (bariatric kind), chewable calcium citrate with D, and 500 mcg B12 (starting after week 7), unless the pre-op labs indicate any other deficiencies. I got orders for my labs and I'll get that done locally and faxed to the office. Other than that all I need to have done to get ready is go back in for my endoscope procedure on 10/2/09.
Everyone was suprised that my insurance didn't require the supervised diet. I had to keep showing them the requirements and where that one had been removed in 2001. Dr. Wilson does want me to lose 19 lbs. before surgery, though. When he did the exam, he said my weight is distributed in a way that should make the surgery fairly easy. I don’t really carry much of my weight in my upper abdomen; it is mostly all in my butt and thighs. When I lay down on the exam table he was able to feel my ribs and hip bones fairly easily. Overall it was a really positive experience and if everything keeps going smoothly, I should be getting my surgery within the next month or two.
Rescheduled appointments
Sep 10, 2009
). Fortunately I made it almost back to the house and had two nice folks stop and help me push it the rest of the way there. I got the car fixed, but then I wasn't going have the $$$ to make either trip as planned. I called to reschedule them and got them both for the same day (9/16/09). This will be good since I can do both of them on one day and save an extra trip. Also with this date my mom is going to try to take off work and go to the appointments with me. She'll be the one helping with my recovery post-op. Not only was she a nurse for years, she also had the Mini-Bypass surgery about a year ago.At work we started a weightloss challenge and I decided to join since most of it will coinside with the weight I need to lose pre-op. I'm letting myself be "bad"
until the Monday after my first appointment with Dr. Wilson, then it's the start of a whole new chapter of my life!! I plan to start my pre-op diet on Sept. 21 and then after that will come the two week liquid diet right before surgery (once everything's approved and scheduled) and then finally surgery...The challenge will last until 12/21/09 and as long as I reach my goal by then (32 lbs.) I'll win $50. It was embarassing doing the initial weigh-in since the scale they had in the office wouldn't work for me. The fitness trainer and I had to "discreetly" go to the back of the facility to the shipping area to use the big platform scale (388 lbs.
yikes!!) I was trying to figure out a way not to post my actual weight on the status board, but I decided to let it stand since the participants are basically anonymous and everyone picks a football team to represent them and teams can either be one person or a group of two or more. I picked the Atlanta Falcons since I liked the logo and I figure that when people see the weight, they'll just think it's a team of two people instead of just me.
