landal
I have been overweight all of my life. My mother, her parents, her siblings, and many members of my family are severley overweight. My mother passed away about six years ago, and the cause of death on her death certificate was "Morbid Obesity". I vowed then that I was not going to let that happen to me. I did have success with phen-fen, but when it was taken off the market, I slowly regained all of my weight. I want this surgery so that I will have every opportunity to see my children and grandchildren gorw up. I want to be free from the constant obsession about weight and food, and the feeling of failure. This is not how anyone wants to live their life. I have an appointment with Dr. DiMarco in April and am nervous and excited about the prospect of being able to change my life. This web sight has given me alot of information and support just by reading the stories of other WLS patients. Wish me luck!
April 26, 2001
I had my first appointment with Dr. DiMarco yesterday. I had to wait two months from the time I called and I will probaly have to wait the same amount of time before I have surgery. Dr. DiMarco was very kind, and informative. He drew a chart of the procedure, explained the positives and negatives, and statistics, and answered all of my questions very completly. He seemed very secure that I would be approved by my insurance company. That is the next hurdle, after that I am only concerned about the preop testing, since I will be awake for that. The doc says I won't really care much, I'll be pretty sedated. He likes to do this test himself so he knows what to look for during surgery. He doesn't have a great deal of dietary restrictions, or medication restrictions for after surgery, except for the first week or so. I was alittle surprised by that. I met two of his patients in the waiting room. Both were very pleased with the doctor and the surgery. They had really positive surgical experiences, and have adapted well to their new lives. I'll update when I get approval and a date.
June 23, 2001
I received a letter from my insurance company about a month ago, stating I needed a physical and history for a predetermination. I scheduled the physical, by couldn't get in to see my doc before June 27th. I was so depressed, I was even going to try another doc that could give me an appointment right away. I reconsidered, since I know my doc is aware of my wanting the surgery and she is behind me 100%. I decided to send the insurance company a letter, detailing my reasons for wanting and needing the suregery. I also sent my pcp a letter about needing the physical, etc... When I got home from work yesterday my husband said, "I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that your surgery isn't until September 21st. He didn't have to tell me the good news, although I refused to believe it until the surgeon's office faxed a copy of my approval and I then talked to the insurance company. The rep. at the insurance company couldn't tell me why I got approved, since I hadn't had my physical yet, but that I was approved and did not need the physical. All I can imagine is that my letter did the trick, or my pcp sent a letter after she received mine. I can't wait to talk to her on Wednesday. I am keeping the appointment since I haven't had a physical in a while, and just in case. Now I feel like I can look forward, instead of waiting... It seems real now. I'll keep you posted.
Sept. 14, 2001
Well, I am very much in the dumps today. I found out on Tuesday that my surgeon has not performed any bariatric surgeries since July 13th. This is because the hospital system has required new equipment and training be put into place before he resumes these surgeries. I found out only because I called the office after receiving a heads up from another one of his patients. It looks like they will begin scheduling again in mid-October, and double the number of surgeries, so I am probably looking at Mid-November. Will let you know when I receive a new date. I was so mentally prepared, now just down in the dumps. I cannot compare my situation to the toal grief our country is expieriencing at this time, I just pray for patience.
December 20, 2001
My new surgery date in January 4. I am trying to get myself motivated and in the right frame of mind. I keep thinking the other ball is going to drop. My surgeon's office assures me all is in order.
January 17, 2002
It has been just one day shy of two weeks since my surgery. All in all the surgery went well and my hospital stay was as pleasant as any hospital stay can be. I arrived at the hospital at 6:30 am and was taken directly back to pre-op. I must say before I go any further that every single employee of my hospital was kind and pleasant, there just weren't enough nurses to go around, but luckily my husband was with me and was a great help. I was givne my iv, and the support hose were put on. This was the most nerve racking part of the whole process. When the anesthesiologist came in I asked for medication to calm me down and he obliged, so from that point on I was calm and ready. I remember getting on the operating table and waking up in recovery in pain, but the nurses took care of it right away. Before long I was in my room. The bed I was in in recovery was the bed I had in my room. I did not have to move from one to another. I was on a morphine pump which is very handy, especialy with the shortage or nurses. I was not allowed out of bed until the following morning. I was given ice chips and remember being very dry, but the ice helped, and the hospital had this great cream you could put on your lips and the inside of your mouth to be more comfortable. As soon as the catheter was taken out the next day, I was up and in the shower. The hardest part was getting in and out of bed. I decided to sleep in the chair that night, but by the next night I could get in and out of the bed with just a little difficulty. The swallow test itself was not bad, but the stuff you have to drink is not pleasant, but it is doable. I was on a clear liquid diet for a week, but by FridayI was feeling hunger pangs, so I ate a scambled egg with no problem. Each day I got better, but I did have a bad infection in one incision and was treated with antibiotics. That slowed my recovery a bit, but it is now gone. I gained twenty pounds of fluid in the hospital, so I did not show any real weight loss at the doctor's office today. I am able to eat, and am getting that full feeling. I have only gotten sick onec. I think it was because the soup had too many different things in it. I am anxious now to start seeing some real results. The doctor says I am at the point where most patients are at after 2 months. He says I have just healed faster and it should not affect my weight loss.
August 10,2002
Wow, it's been 7 months since surgery. I have lost about 50 pounds, feel great, can eat anything in moderate amounts. My weight loss is slow and we are keeping an eye on it, but as long as I continue to lose, I will be happy. I feel like a normal person again. I have energy, want to do things I haven't done in years. It's wonderful.
December 5, 2005
Wow, haven't updated in way too long. In January of 2003 I had a revision of my initial surgery. There was a hiatal hernia causing me to be able to eat too much and the pouch had stretched due to the tissue used. The surgeon reduced my pouch and fixed the hiatal herinia. Since then I have lost a total 75 pounds, from 247 to 172 today.
On November 21 I had mu lower body lift with tummy tuck and muscle repair and lipo of my thighs, knees, abdomen and back. I went up to 181 after surgery and am down to 172 today. I am still retaining at least 10 pounds of fluid in my legs mostly. So far I am thrilled with my results. I actually got into a size 10 dress and it didn't have a bit of stretch to it. I will try to be more faithful about posting regarding this surgery.
December 15
Down to 176 and hoping to lose another 5 more of fluid. Feeling ggod and back to work 2 weeks post surgery. My pix are at this link:
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