Tammy C.

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I'm ready (and I need) to start moving aka exercising.  I want to keep the weight coming off and at the same get in shape to take advantage of the weight loss.

I have a recumbant bike and hand weights at home, proximity hasn't been a very good motivation.  I bought a new cross-over bike last fall and now that it's cooling off I'll make sure to get out and use it for not only exercise but fresh air.

So whats next... I need someone to push me a bit.  I went to 24-Hour fitness with a 7-day trial pass and took their acquasize class last night.  I've had better, but it was still good to get out and be doing something.  They had a special where 4-days a week I can a monthly their monthly fee down to $19 per month.  Heck, I spent that much on 2-days fast food in the past, this seems easy enough decision.  As part of the Biggest Loser contest they had a promotion to work with a trainer, so for another one-time charge I signed up to work with a trainer 5 times.  This will help me determine which exercises are best for me, and someone to guilt me into showing up for at least the first few weeks. Hopefully by then it will be engrained and become more of a routine.

I had hoped that my DH would come with me, but he's never been a gym person and with his recent back problems isn't jumping in.  At least I won't use him as an excuse not to go to the gym if he's not in the mood, but at the same time it would be nice to spend this hour or two doing something together. 

So, you'll find me at the gym Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday's or Sundays from here out (right?).

Its a beautiful Saturday morning and I am soooo glad to be feeling decent again.  I had a rough last few days with a constant nausia feeling and nothing I ate or drank stayed with me long.   I actually ended up taking off early on Thursday and didn't go into work at all on Friday.  I think my new pouch was telling me to back off on the experimenting with foods and go back to the  basics for a while.  I know I'm not getting in enough protein so that is something else I need start concentrating on.  It shows by the fact that in the last week I've not been losing anything on the scale.  I guess I need a good swift kick in the butt to get back into a good routine.

Last weekend I felt great, I actually had the energy to weed the front of the house flower beds, edge along the sidewalk and driveway and plant a few new mums.  Of course, I made sure to do much of it while sitting on my little garden scooter that holds my tools so I didn't strain my abdominal area.  

I'm crossing my fingers that my pouch settles down and I have an nausia-free Labor Day Weekend.

Not sure I'm ready, I was kind of getting used to being around the house all day.  But this was the planned return date to work assuming the surgery and recovery went well.  I'm well enough to sit in front of a computer, its not like I have a job that requires me to do much else.

I took my protein powder with me and added it to my raspberry ice drink mix.  Took me forever to get it drank, didn't realize how having your hands busy on the keyboard would keep me from sip, sip, sipping the way I was suppose to be.  I did make sure to take a half hour and go to the break room to get a little bit of a respit and concentrate on getting my fluids in.  

Only two days this week, I'll be ready for the weekend that is for sure.

Only a week since surgery and when I went to the doctor's appointment today they were ready to take the staples out of the five incision holes plus the drain and staples out of the sixth hole.  Didn't have much pain during the procedure, was all over in about 5 minutes.  The drain site still has to be bandaged and I made sure they put some steri-strips on it so that I get a nice small scar there as well.  Nice to get rid of the JP drain and not have to keep emptying it every few hours.

Still hurts to lay on the left side, but that too should pass.  I've not been taking any pain reliever since about Sunday.  Somewhat surprises me how little pain has been involved in this whole procedure.

Here is a quite recap of my surgery day and the two nights following in the hospital.

I had done pre-admittance the day before at DePaul so I'd already signed all the paperwork, cross the t's, dotted the i's and so forth.  This meant that when I arrived for surgery it was a simple matter of putting the wrist band on.  My husband was antsy and so I told him to go to work instead of sitting any more with me.  Some people might think this is odd, but it gave me time to relax and not try to entertain him.  

They finally called my name and I was more than ready to step on that nasty scale one last time as a morbidly obese person.  I think it caught the nurse off guard until I explained I was there for gastric bypass and I could care less how much I weighed that day.

I quickly changed into my hospital gown, barely had the back tied up when Dr. de la Torre breezed in without so much as a knock and asked me how I was and if I had any questions.  I said no, I'm ready, and he was out the door in a flash.  Its almost like he was doing a superman impression since he had his street clothes on a hanger in one hand and was already in his scrubs ready to start the day.

I remembered to take my list of medications so that simplified the number of questions I was asked by the four or five people that came into the room.  I was impressed that the respiratory guys had my history from previous surgeries and knew that my COPD sometimes causes me problems.  In fact I even learned a few things that had happened during my last surgery that I was unaware of in that respect.  I guess they had problems getting me tubed the time before because of the size of my throat or because I can't open my jaw as wide as others.  Anyway, they even warned me that they could chip a tooth if they ran into problems but I told them I understood and they should do whatever was necessary.

It was time to be wheeled down the hallway, they must have already given me some good drugs because unlike other surgeries I hardly even remember getting to the operating room let alone moving from the bed to the operating table.  

Next thing I vaguely remember is waking up in recovery with a super dry mouth, answering a few questions I don't even remember and then falling back to sleep.  From what I understand I was in recovery a long time, not because it was necessary so much as they were waiting for a room to open up on the 6th floor.  Even then, I hardly recall being wheeled to the 6th floor.  At some point my hubby showed up with my suitcase so I had some comfort items like my own pillow and blanket and the dry mouth spray I'd bought.  It was a god-send, I was so parched and not allowed to drink anything.

I slept quite a bit off and on, but finally got to the point where I was alert enough to know I was suppose to get out of bed and walk.  So, I pushed the button for the nurse and tested the waters for pain as I attempted to get out of bed for the first time.

I was surprised that I didn't have much difficulty swinging my legs around and pushing my upper body up - perhaps it was that pain pump button I'd been pushing that was making it easy.  Only problem was when I stood I had blood running down my left leg - it seems my hole where the drain was had built up a pool of blood and moving around released it.  So, I sat back down and waited as the nurse redressed the incision, and emptied the JP drain.  Now I was ready, one hand on the IV pole the other on any surface that didn't move.  I actually was pretty steady and had my hubby following close behind for any misteps.  I was able to make one lap around the nurses station and decided not to push it too much.  It was time to head back to bed.

That night I got up one or two more times, don't really recall as it was a bit of a blurr.  The next morning it was time for the blue ice test, and even with putting lip ointment on my lips still turned blue.  Since Steve wasn't around I took a picture with my camera phone and sent it to him.  Then I was off to have the other tests down in the Xray department.  Other than a bit of a wait it was pretty uneventful.  What an odd situation, I kept thinking this should be a cartoon drawing.  Imagine about 4 people in their hospital beds parked like cars in a waiting room.  One by one it was our turns and they shifted our beds around as someone went either in for their test or waited for a transporation person to come and wheel them back to their room.

Back in my room it wasn't long before the nurse asked if I was ready for something to drink and some Isopur arrived.  With all the IV fluids they had been pumping into me it was mainly my mouth that was parched more than my stomach.  Felt good to have liquid although only a few sips at a time were possible.  The new eating/drinking habits had to kick in.

Another night of being woke up every hour to have my temperature taken, a blood sample taken, a shot given, the JP drain emptied or to get up and walk.  I'd gotten comfortable enough with unplugging my IV pump from the wall outlet that I was able to get up and move around without having to ring for a nurse.  Of course it was a pain to plug back in, so they often got called in when the alarm sounded due to it running out of battery power.   

I had taken my portable DVD player with me in case I needed some distraction but only got through part of one movie before falling asleep.  This is why I keep saying the hospital stay was like a blurr with only brief moments of getting up to walk or pee once the catheter came out.

Early friday the doctor and nutritionist both stopped in to see how I was progressing and quickly said I was ready to go home as soon as they got the discharge papers situated.  Since the IVs were taken out and it was going to be an hour before Steve could pick me up I decided to take a shower and get the hospital grungies washed off.  This meant when I got home I could just simply go to bed and take a nice long uninterrupted nap.  While in the shower they dropped off some more Isopur, jello and crystal light drink so I also got that out of the way before heading home.

They had sent my prescriptions to DePaul's pharmacy on Thursday so Steve had already picked them up that afternoon.  That sure made it easier on Friday, not having to do that either.  They had prescribed me liquid pain reliever, prevacid solu-tabs, a nasty liquid that helps prevent ulcers and liquid Thiamin (B1).  With those plus my twice a day chewable vitamins I was set.

I was discharged today at 12 noon and happy to be home and feeling fairly decent.

Right after surgery I had quite a bit of back pain.  I could not find a comfortable position to lay that would take the pain away.  The pain pump did help things out once I started using it more regularly (duh!).  I have put a hot pack on it since returning home and that seems to be helping it out.  From what I understand its due to the way they strap you to the table and then raise your head so gravity pulls your excess stomach fat down away from where the doctor wants to work.

I worked hard to get my liquids in and get over that initial pain associated with filling the pouch for the first few times.  I'm now sipping water without any issues.

I'm off to bed for a full-nights sleep hopefully, no more being woke up every hour by a nurse wanting to poke me.

People that know of my surgery keep asking me if I'm nervous, and honestly I'm not.  Perhaps its because I've been through a number of surgeries already, although none this evasive.  Could be because I grew up around a hospital since my Dad worked at one since I was a young child and I then worked part time during high school there as well.  Its not a foreign place.  Perhaps its because I have confidence in my surgeon and have trust and faith that I deserve to have this go well.

Its like the day before Christmas, I'm having problems getting my mind to stop racing and fall asleep.  But thats ok, I'll have plenty of time to sleep once I get into surgery and for two weeks afterwards as I recoup.

I just got a call and my new surgery date is August 8th!!!!!  Almost a month later than hoped, but I'll quit dwelling on that and start the count down to a skinny me.

Something amazing happened today, not only did the insurance committee at my company approve my surgery but instead of just doing it as a discretionary approval they actually changed the plan so that others that fit the criteria can get the surgery as well!  

See, it was worth going for it and not letting the HR staff tell me not to bother.

Now its just a matter of getting ahold of Nancy and praying for a surgery date to open up in the near future.  I"M READY!

By the time I put all the facts of my medical conditions, how weight loss surgery would help or alleviate the conditions, attached all the lousy correspondence I got back and forth from Great West illustrating how inept they were at administering the plan and demonstrating to the committe how much money they'd already spent in this venture the document was 17 pages long.  I hope that is enough food for thought for the committee!!