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My time has arrived- I will be getting the open DS tomorrow morning at 8 a.m.  I have to be at the hospital at 6 a.m.

I am currently swigging down Golytely for Buchwald's infamous bowel prep.  I envy the people who were allowed to use Magnesium Citrate instead.  I am getting through it by having two ounces, sip of juice, repeat for eight ounces, then taking another eight ounces ten minutes later.  The Golytely is just sooo much- who drinks a gallon of anything?

My mom is here with me, and Tallia (Earthy_Mami) is my Angel! 

I'm really nervous, and have been for about a week and a half.  During the day, when I'm busy and doing various tasks, I feel ok.  At night, I get heart palpitations and sweats and other panic attack symptoms.  Tonight will probably be the worst.  I am trying to relax knowing that they will sedate me at the hospital as soon as they are able.  I tend to be a very high anxiety patient, but I know this and I work hard with my health care providers to manage it.

I know that Dr. Buchwald is just wonderful, a complete fount of knowledge and experience, and everything should be just fine.  I'm looking forward to being switched.  Even with the vitamins and protein, etc., I feel like the events leading up to the event are the hard part.

Time for more Golytely!  I'll blog later, after the fact, when I am drugged out of my mind.

I have been overweight my entire life.  In August of 2005, I had a lap band inserted by Dr. Margo in Deer River, MN.  Dr. Margo is a good surgeon, but the band has turned out to not be for me.  I lost very slowly, never lost more than 50 pounds, and gained it all back.  I had to have several emergency de-fills whenever my pouch got irritated, including two hospitalizations.  I constantly vomited my food, no matter how well I chewed it, and I couldn't consistently eat the same foods (sometimes, I could eat something without a problem, and then the next day it would cause a problem through vomiting or irritation).  Every time I got a cold, and the time I got pneumonia, my pouch swelled due to the irritation from coughing.

In January 2009, I decided that I'd had enough and needed a revision.  I began to do research on the message boards and elsewhere, and I chose the duodenal switch (DS).  My surgeon, Dr. Buchwald, has a great reputation for revisions, and I have every confidence in his ability to take out this band and perform a surgery that can meet my needs.  

BCBS of MN denied my first request for DS due to the need for me to be on a six month dietary program- apparently, the lap band didn't count as a six month attempt to lose weight.  Dr. Buchwald's office re-submitted a request for surgery on August 14, 2009, after six months of visits with a Registered Dietitan.  I was approved by insurance and scheduled for surgery on August 18, 2009.  My revision will be September 15, 2009.

Based on my experience with the band, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.  The continual follow-up and the fills and de-fills are very inconvenient, and it doesn't work for everyone.  The people I know who have had the fewest amount of problems are the the people with the least amount of weight to lose.  I am SMO (BMI 54), and even if I hadn't had the eating problems, it is doubtful that I would have lost a decent amount of my excess weight.

I currently weight 302 lbs with a goal of 140 lbs.  I am going to do everything I can to make the DS a success for me, and my hopes are high.