Jilly821
Home sweet home...
May 07, 2009
Well - I MADE IT! My experience at the Barix Clinic was amazing. I had no idea what to expect, but I was treated so wonderfully, and with a lot of respect. I was able to have my surgery laparoscopically - THANK YOU JESUS!!!! My surgeon said my insides looked really good - and the surgery took less than an hour - so that's pretty amazing. The pre-surgery diet really paid off. I also received the "best patient in the world" title from the second shift nurses - who were by FAR my favorite. I had a set back on my second day - when i had a bad reaction to the morphine. I had to get a shot of benadryl - which put me right to sleep - which was nice because i hadn't been getting too much of that. I also tried taking loretab on an empty stomach - BAD IDEA - and got sick immediately. I also had a problem passing gas, and had to have a suppository. Not the best time in my life - but tolerable. Despite these setbacks, I was still able to come home two days later - and the ride home SUCKED! My fiance drives a truck - so it was pretty bumpy. I had a sweatshirt and 2 pillows to lessen the blows - but i was still sore afterward.
I weighed myself when i got home, and had already lost all of the fluid weight i gained with my IV. So now I can start tracking my loss. I've decided to weigh in on Saturday mornings - that way I only do it once a week -and don't get crazy about the number. The number never really was the issue for me - its more about health - but i can see how easily it can become an obsession.
I was very happy to be able to sleep in my own bed last night as well. I even got up without help to use the restroom. I think part of the success for me, is that i prepared myself for much worse of a recovery - and it seems like it's going to be fairly "easy" for lack of a better word. I don't really think it will be "easy" just easier than I speculated previously.
Ok - I guess this is it for now - but i will definitely keep updating this as I come across things I need to talk about.
2 comments
I weighed myself when i got home, and had already lost all of the fluid weight i gained with my IV. So now I can start tracking my loss. I've decided to weigh in on Saturday mornings - that way I only do it once a week -and don't get crazy about the number. The number never really was the issue for me - its more about health - but i can see how easily it can become an obsession.
I was very happy to be able to sleep in my own bed last night as well. I even got up without help to use the restroom. I think part of the success for me, is that i prepared myself for much worse of a recovery - and it seems like it's going to be fairly "easy" for lack of a better word. I don't really think it will be "easy" just easier than I speculated previously.
Ok - I guess this is it for now - but i will definitely keep updating this as I come across things I need to talk about.
Feeling GREAT!!!
May 02, 2009
Well - only 2 more days to go! I'm getting more and more excited. I jumped on the scale this morning, and i am done 25lbs!!! So excited about that. I am going on full liquids tomorrow, even though its not really required until monday - and hopefully I can drop a couple more before the big day.
Its really funny how my clothes are already fitting differently, and most of my jeans are WAY too big to wear. I pulled a pair of brand new jeans out, that never fit me - and believe it or not, they are the only ones i want to wear right now. The other ones literally FALL off of me. Its obnoxious, but in a good way.
Well - not too much to write about at this moment - but more to come, i'm sure.
0 comments
Its really funny how my clothes are already fitting differently, and most of my jeans are WAY too big to wear. I pulled a pair of brand new jeans out, that never fit me - and believe it or not, they are the only ones i want to wear right now. The other ones literally FALL off of me. Its obnoxious, but in a good way.
Well - not too much to write about at this moment - but more to come, i'm sure.
Feeling Better...
Apr 30, 2009
Well - i'm slowly getting back on track. Yesterday was a pretty good day. I even went for a walk on my lunch hour - which felt really nice. If the weather holds out, I will do the same tonight. A friend is coming over tonight to help me straighten up my apartment - and tomorrow I will take on the task of shopping for after-surgery friendly food.
I have a "walk off the weight" DVD i borrowed from a friend, and if it starts raining, which i'm sure it will - I will try to do that. I look at it as a challenge, because it is 45 minutes of power walking, and its broken down into 1 mile incriments. I made it to about 18 minutes the last time (which was a couple weeks ago), so hopefully i can make it at least that far.
I took people's advice and started eating my SF oatmeal again for more fiber, and I really think that's going to help me out with sticking to my plan. Even if I have to eat oatmeal in the afternoon - I think it will be worth it.
Only 4 1/2 days until surgery. My admitting time is 9:00am - so I'm not really sure exactly what time i will go in for surgery - but hopefully soon after that. The admitting nurse told me that the surgery lasts 1-2 hours - so hopefully I will be resting in my room around 1 or 2... That would be nice.
I will say though - my main concern is waking up with a huge cut in my stomach. I was given the task of losing 30-40 lbs, and I've only gotten to about 20. I know that is really good - but not what the surgeon asked. So we'll see. I have some aprehensions about an open surgery - just because I've seen some complications with my aunt - and also about recovery time. I live alone, and pay all of my bills on a rather frugal budget... If I am off work for more than 15 days, I will be without pay for a month... which means I can't pay my bills. That has me scared...
But not scared enough to not go through with it. I know the benefits of this will far outweight any negative things that can happen - but its just how my mind works... I have always thought about the bad stuff more than the good stuff.
Well - i suppose its time to sign off again... I'm sure i'll write more before the big day!
0 comments
I have a "walk off the weight" DVD i borrowed from a friend, and if it starts raining, which i'm sure it will - I will try to do that. I look at it as a challenge, because it is 45 minutes of power walking, and its broken down into 1 mile incriments. I made it to about 18 minutes the last time (which was a couple weeks ago), so hopefully i can make it at least that far.
I took people's advice and started eating my SF oatmeal again for more fiber, and I really think that's going to help me out with sticking to my plan. Even if I have to eat oatmeal in the afternoon - I think it will be worth it.
Only 4 1/2 days until surgery. My admitting time is 9:00am - so I'm not really sure exactly what time i will go in for surgery - but hopefully soon after that. The admitting nurse told me that the surgery lasts 1-2 hours - so hopefully I will be resting in my room around 1 or 2... That would be nice.
I will say though - my main concern is waking up with a huge cut in my stomach. I was given the task of losing 30-40 lbs, and I've only gotten to about 20. I know that is really good - but not what the surgeon asked. So we'll see. I have some aprehensions about an open surgery - just because I've seen some complications with my aunt - and also about recovery time. I live alone, and pay all of my bills on a rather frugal budget... If I am off work for more than 15 days, I will be without pay for a month... which means I can't pay my bills. That has me scared...
But not scared enough to not go through with it. I know the benefits of this will far outweight any negative things that can happen - but its just how my mind works... I have always thought about the bad stuff more than the good stuff.
Well - i suppose its time to sign off again... I'm sure i'll write more before the big day!
A bad weekend...
Apr 26, 2009
So I didn't have the best weekend, eating-wise. I've been doing really well during the week, but the weekends always seem to haunt me. Yesterday was particularly bad. I am a week pre-op, and I know that if I could lose a few more lbs, I would be in a better place, and the doc would be happy with me.
For some reason, yesterday, I could not stop eating. I had BK breakfast, a sensible lunch from KFC (we tried the new grilled chickent, I had 2 legs, a few potato wedges, and a biscuit), and the kicker was dinner. We went to a mexican restaurant to celebrate my fiance's birthday. I had a giant burrito, and then for dessert, i had a piece of pie. Needless to say, I felt like death afterward, because its been weeks since i'd eaten that way.
I weighed myself yesteday morning, naked, and was pretty happy with the result. I did the same this morning, and I had put on 3 lbs. I'm sure some of the food is still inside - so that's why it was so much higher, but I felt really discouraged, so today - I'm definitely back on track. I am having a chocolate-caramel protein shake, SF applesauce, and v-8 juice for a snack. Lunch will be chickensoup protein, and I'll have applesauce with it, and then v-8 again for my snack. I'm sure dinner will be an instant replay of lunch - but i plan on stopping at the store to pick up some SF yogurt - which always helps. I love yogurt, and I need to figure out which flavors don't have fruit chunks, and then stock up on that this weekend- since surgery is next TUESDAY!
I'm getting so excited! It seems surreal though. I have so much to get done between now and then. I want to straighten up my apartment, rearrange some things, get the couch bed made up, since I will be having someone stay with me for the first few nights...
Anyway, back to work...
2 comments
For some reason, yesterday, I could not stop eating. I had BK breakfast, a sensible lunch from KFC (we tried the new grilled chickent, I had 2 legs, a few potato wedges, and a biscuit), and the kicker was dinner. We went to a mexican restaurant to celebrate my fiance's birthday. I had a giant burrito, and then for dessert, i had a piece of pie. Needless to say, I felt like death afterward, because its been weeks since i'd eaten that way.
I weighed myself yesteday morning, naked, and was pretty happy with the result. I did the same this morning, and I had put on 3 lbs. I'm sure some of the food is still inside - so that's why it was so much higher, but I felt really discouraged, so today - I'm definitely back on track. I am having a chocolate-caramel protein shake, SF applesauce, and v-8 juice for a snack. Lunch will be chickensoup protein, and I'll have applesauce with it, and then v-8 again for my snack. I'm sure dinner will be an instant replay of lunch - but i plan on stopping at the store to pick up some SF yogurt - which always helps. I love yogurt, and I need to figure out which flavors don't have fruit chunks, and then stock up on that this weekend- since surgery is next TUESDAY!
I'm getting so excited! It seems surreal though. I have so much to get done between now and then. I want to straighten up my apartment, rearrange some things, get the couch bed made up, since I will be having someone stay with me for the first few nights...
Anyway, back to work...
Just starting out...
Apr 23, 2009
I figured it was time to start writing about my experiences - and I don't really care if people read them or not. I think it will help me put everything into perspective. I thought about weightloss surgery a lot for quite some time, but never really did anything about it. I didn't check into it with my insurance, I just thought, hey, maybe some day. Well, my aunt had it done in february 2008 - and had a terrible time. This made me say, NO WAY! I will not do that to myself! But then a friend had it in September 2008, and had a really good experience, and i've seen how "easy" it has been for her. So, in November of 2008 I made an appointment for a consultation with Barix Clinic in Ypsilanti, MI. It was very informative, and I made the decision that this was what i wanted to do, to make myself healthier, so i could live a long and happy life.
I did the psych eval, and had to do a stress test because my BMI was over 60 - and everything came back fine. After sending all of the test results in to the Clinic, I thought things would happen faster than they did. I had all of my testing done by the end of the first week in January, but didn't hear anything for a couple months. Finally, I got the call, and my surgery was scheduled for May 5, 2009. That is a little less than 2 weeks. I am excited, and nervous at the same time. The only time i've ever been in the hospital was to have my tonsils removed when I was four, and thankfully, I don't remember it. I am 27 years old, and really, the only thing "wrong" with me, is that I'm morbidly obese.
I went to the hospital on Monday (April 20) for my pre-surgical assessment testing, and all of those results came back normal - so I was cleared for surgery. I've been doing a liquid diet for a little over two weeks, and plan on continuing it until surgery. So far I've lost almost 20 lbs. When i went to the initial consultation, the surgeon asked me to try to lose between 30-40lbs to ensure i would be able to have it laparoscopically. I hope I can get to at least 30. It hasn't been easy, but it does get easier as each day passes. And if i feel like eating "real" food, I will - but i make sure it is a smart choice - something high in protein, low in fat. Its really not that hard to do.
Well, I plan on writing more as time gets closer, and will keep it up after surgery as well. I think this will become a very helpful tool. I especially enjoy reading all of the message board posts - to see that other people are going through the same things that I am. It really helps to know that you're not alone.
Ok - I'm out for now!
1 comment
I did the psych eval, and had to do a stress test because my BMI was over 60 - and everything came back fine. After sending all of the test results in to the Clinic, I thought things would happen faster than they did. I had all of my testing done by the end of the first week in January, but didn't hear anything for a couple months. Finally, I got the call, and my surgery was scheduled for May 5, 2009. That is a little less than 2 weeks. I am excited, and nervous at the same time. The only time i've ever been in the hospital was to have my tonsils removed when I was four, and thankfully, I don't remember it. I am 27 years old, and really, the only thing "wrong" with me, is that I'm morbidly obese.
I went to the hospital on Monday (April 20) for my pre-surgical assessment testing, and all of those results came back normal - so I was cleared for surgery. I've been doing a liquid diet for a little over two weeks, and plan on continuing it until surgery. So far I've lost almost 20 lbs. When i went to the initial consultation, the surgeon asked me to try to lose between 30-40lbs to ensure i would be able to have it laparoscopically. I hope I can get to at least 30. It hasn't been easy, but it does get easier as each day passes. And if i feel like eating "real" food, I will - but i make sure it is a smart choice - something high in protein, low in fat. Its really not that hard to do.
Well, I plan on writing more as time gets closer, and will keep it up after surgery as well. I think this will become a very helpful tool. I especially enjoy reading all of the message board posts - to see that other people are going through the same things that I am. It really helps to know that you're not alone.
Ok - I'm out for now!
