Nellabelle

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I am now 1 year post op. Baby is due any minute. I weigh in at 197 pounds at full term pregnant. Not too bad. Expect to be in the 170's a week or so after the baby is born. It will put me very close to the century club. I expected so much more but didn't expect to get preggo right after surgery.  Imagine if I tried!!!

It has been a while!  I am now 190 pounds.  that is 81 pounds down and I am 6 months pregnant (24 1/2 weeks at present)  I am being monitored closely but the baby is growing well and he is right  as rain.
I find that I can eat A LOT. half a 12 inch sub, a whopper, notice how it is always bad food we mention?  I can eat a pound of strawberries in one sitting.  I can eat a whole sandwich, drink 500 ml of milk and still get a kiwi in after that. It worries me but I have to eat right now for the baby.  Hopefully, I will be able to get control of this after he is born. He is due within days of my one year surgery anniversary.

June 8, 2006
went to my doctor and he readily agreed to have me see a surgeon. I chose to see Dr. Starr. I have an appointment for Aug 25th already.

June 15
starting to think about out of country surgery. Have started to do research.

June 17
looking at Barix in Michigan - they seem to have the shortest turn around time. Only problem is that we have three kids and there is only one of my husband. It will be very difficult to have the surgery so far away. I would rather him stay home with the kids but he would insist on coming. The twins are old enough to be sat for a week but the baby is another story. Maybe we would bring her with us...?

June 25
opted against Barix - it is too far and too much needs to be done on this end for it to all run smoothly. Will look closer.
Dr. O'malley in Rochester is an option. Dr. Caruana in williamsville is also an option.
I called both offices. Seems you need to go thru more hoops at the Rochester clinic than the Williamsville clinic. Here's the catch - Dr. Caruana in Williamsville has never had an OHIP patient. I spoke with Rhonda at their office and she said that she called OHIP and that they would not discuss approval criteria with her. They stated that if a patient requested their services, they would call.

June 26
still on the fence. both doctors have a good track record. Dr O performs lap and Dr. C open. Open doesn't bother me. seems to me it would be better as they are able to check for leaks more efficiently - maybe I'm wrong - don't know.

June 30
emailed with a few other members and got more info on Dr. O in Rochester. steering more towards him as he is OHIP approved.

July 2
decided to go with my gut instinct. I am going to go to Dr. Poplawski at Barix. I am not going to enjoy the commute to Michigan but atleast I will have a competent Doctor.

July 3
took all of the paperwork into the doctor's office. He asked that I go in for some blood tests then he signed everything! Now let's just see how many times we have to provide more info to OHIP.
I have a packet that contains the application, a letter from the doctor, a letter from me, and a letter from my RMT.

I will also be going to a phychiatrist that had treated me for PPD on July 13th so that she may sign a letter stating that I am in proper mental health for the surgery. Hopefully this will eliminate the phych evaluations.

July 5
still holding onto the OHIP info. Don't know why. Have decided to send it by mail to OHIP instead of by Fax.
I am starting to get nervous about the process. I think I will be denied.

July 17
have consult planned with Dr. Poplawski at the Bari clinic in Ypsilanti Michigan.
back from consult. Barix is a really nice facility. Dr. Poplawski was a nice man, very informed, understanding. Said just the right things...hmmm.
Letter from Purolater came while I was gone. It is at the depot ready from pick up.
will pick it up tomorrow ASAP!!

July 18th
Approved! It pays to have your ducks in a row! Gotta go camping with the family.........

July 23
back from camping. I was kinda hoping to have a message on the machine from Barix giving me a surgery date. No such animal. hmmm.

July 28
called Barix scheduling to see if I have been lost in the shuffle. Did not actually talk to anyone. Had to leave a message. The message said they would return the call same day. No luck. Maybe monday.....

August 1
finally called Anne Prihosa at Barix to ask if I all my paperwork was in order. It was. She told me Babbette had my file. She transferred me over to her. Babbette told me that Janessa would call me in a few hows. Low and hehold, the call came! I have a September 7th surgery date. I asked for September 7th - I bet I could have gotten it earlier if I had wanted - gotta love pay for services medical care for their speed!

August 13, 2006
Starting to get a little nervous. An OH friend, Tammy McFarlane, died from complications of her surgery on August 9th. It is really making me think about this and re-weigh my priorities. I have been waiting for my life to beigin again by haviing this surgery and getting active BUT I must remember that this life is better than no life. Ohhh, it is hard. I cannot fathom leaving my 3 kids without a Mom........

August 21, 2006

Pre-op appointment
Talk about clock work! You go into the hospital - they take blood and then you are taken to the nutrition consult. After that you are wisked away to have a chest xray. That tech takes you from xray to an exam room. There you are visited by the nurse who takes blood pressure and blood gasses. The respirologist comes in and tests your lungs and does and EKG. You take a urine test during all of this well..... THEN the internal medicine doctor comes in and discusses all of your test results and gives the go ahead for surgery!
All in a few hours!!!
All was well with me. No problem with cholesterol, blood pressure, liver or heart.


September 3, 2005

Well, the time is coming up so quickly. I have the kids ready for school. Have started to pack. Seems surreal.
Hubby and I are leaving on Wednesday night. I am first on the table Thursday so I have to be at the clinic by 6am.
I'll post again when I get back.
Wish me luck!!




September 9, 2006

I got back from Ypsilanti yesterday.
ride was not too bad - I had some really good drugs to keep me serene and stoned!
Still stoned now....they give you about 20 doses of the vicadin stuff and by God, I am going to use it.
I was the first on the table on Thursday. As soon as I walked into the building in Thursday morning there was a nurse waiting for me. He was cute, a little asian man. He told my husband to sit down in the wating area and then game him instructions on how to get to the pre-op room in 45 minutes.
He then took me up to pre-op and had me change then started to give needles. He explained everything he was doing. When he put the IV in, I didn't even feel it! He was good! When they gave me the pregnancy test, the nurse that took that blood had to take blood from my hand - as usual. - it hurt.
The last thing expalined to me was that they would be giving me a drug to put me out and give me temporary amnesia. They were right. I do not remember leaving the pre-op area let alone being wheeled into the operating room! Ken said a some women came in around 8:30am on Thursday for follow ups - from what he said - I think it was our Elizabeth and her 'roomie'.
All went well. Had the procedure done lap. I was TOTALLY out of it on Thursday - thank goodness - I do remember being a bit uncomforatable. I am told that Carrie came to visit on Thursday - I do not remember BUT thank you for the visit!!
When I woke up Friday morning I felt great. Debbie Linfoot also popped in to say hi! That was great.
Did I mention that Stacie woke me up every 90 minutes to walk the floor and to check my vitals Thursday night - really nice girl - takes her job seriously.
Friday morning brought a stomach xray and a choice of foods! broth, popsicle, jello, crystal light. I tried the popsicle - too strong so I stuck with luke warm broth and water. I am not fond of jello.
Drive home was pretty good. We came home via Winsdor because the 401 has rest stops and the 402 via Sarnia does not.
I slept most of yesterday.
This morning I got up and had a scoop of chocolate protein and milk (1/2 c) It went down fine.
If I am done the worst of it - it was a breeze!



September 26, 2006
Well, I made the pilgrimage to Michigan for my 2 week post op appointment. I saw Dr. Pop for a few minutes, he checked the wounds. I saw a nutritionist for a few minutes - we discussed pureed and soft foods. That was it.
I am doing great. The wounds have healed up very nicely - no problems at all. I am drinking well. I tried pureed food for the first time today. Boy, does it ever feel heavy in the little pouch we call a stomach. I had potatoes - they were good. Tried an egg pureed with a bit of mayo - that went down fine. At dinner I ate about an ounce of pureed chicken and gravy. Evening snack was a protein drink.

October 18, 2006

I am now 6 weeks post op (well, I will be in two days) I have no complaints. I have up-chucked quite a few times in the past two weeks - I have been pushing the envelope and trying foods I wasn't ready for yet. (I think)
I am still having a problem with knowing if I feel full or if I haven't chewed my food enough and it is having trouble going down. No real head hunger as I am not hungry and do not crave a thing.
I had about 1/2 a boiled egg and 1/2 peice of toast for lunch and it is sitting heavy. Again, don't know if it is because the egg is too much for my stomach to handle or if my pouch is full.

I started this journey at 271 pounds and am now 239pounds. 32 pounds in 40 days - my weight loss is slower than some, faster than some but just right for ME.


my weight loss
Sept 5/06 - 271
Sept 7/06 - 265
Sept 25/06 - 253 - 18 pounds
Oct 18/06 - 239 - 32 pounds
Dec 31/06 - 211 - 60 pounds