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So I had my surgery. Everything went okay, the only bump being that it was supposed to be at 10:30 AM and ended being closer to 6 PM. I had minimal pain from my incisions afterwards, though lots of pain from gas for the first couple of days. After two days, I was released. My husband and I went right to the hotel from the hospital, but it soon became clear that everything was not alright. I was extremely dizzy, and could barely sit up. After a few hours, I had alot of bloody diarrhea, then fainted. We ended up calling an ambulance, and the surgeon met us at the hospital. Apparently I was bleeding internally, and ended up having a blood transfusion that night. I passed quite a bit more blood over the next 18 hours, and received another unit of blood the next morning, plus a clotting agent. By dinnertime the second day, I had perked up considerably, though I had to stay in the hospital for another two days to be sure the bleeding had stopped.

There is no way to know for sure why I was bleeding. There are different factors that could have caused it and in fact it was probably a combination of these factors. I can say that my doctor and his partners were great, and so were the staff at Faxton St. Luke's Hospital in Utica.

Exactly one week  after my surgery, I was able to return to Canada and my family. Since then, I have been following my doctor's diet to the letter (something his clinic REALLY stresses as being essential for success) although I must say I really, really miss food. After a week of liquids followed by a week of mashed potatoes, oatmeal and yogurt, today I had an 1/2 egg omelet for lunch, but what I am really craving is a big old bowl of mac and cheese, homemade, with lots of ketchup. I have been walking on the treadmill, very slowly at first, but gradually working up to 2 miles a day. As of today, not quite three weeks since my surgery, I have lost 29 lbs. I know that the losing will not always be this rapid, but right now I quite enjoy getting on the scale and watching the numbers go down. Prior to surgery, I had high blood pressure; now I am off my BP meds completely and my BP is actually on the low side.

People ask me if I am happy I had the surgery, but I tell them that it is just too early for me to answer that. The diet for the first six weeks is tough, and my body is still recovering from the surgery, the anesthetic and the internal bleeding. I do feel better every day though, and the nurse practioner assures me that by the time I go for my 3 month check-up, I will be doing cart-wheels down the hall. We'll see. I go for my three week check-up (technically a week late) next week.

My surgery is only three days away now. I have started my clear liquids diet and I am hungry! I am experiencing a myriad of emotions, not the least of which is nervousness and a little bit of panic, but I know that both my kids and my parents are not sure about the surgery and are looking at me to know how to react to the idea. If I freak out, they'll freak out ten fold which is not going to be good for any of us, so I am trying to keep my emotional ups and downs to myself.

I have been running around like crazy making sure I have everything ready - from my clear liquids, sugar free popsicles, protein powders and vitamins, to movies and books to fill the time with. Last night we took my before pictures (painful!), and today I bought a big load of groceries so the kids and husband will have something to eat and hopefully I won't need to shop for a few weeks.

My husband Shawn and I are driving down to Utica tomorrow night (it's about a 3 1/2 hour drive). I have some pre-op stuff to do and an appt with the nutritionist on Wednesday, then Thursday is the big day. I have to be honest - I am a bit nervous but I am a lot excited. If you read this, maybe you could take a moment and send some good thoughts my way!

I have been overweight pretty much all of my adult life. I tried dozens of diets, but for every pound I lost, I always gained two back. Six years ago, I gave up dieting after finally recognizing that it was making me fatter. Interestingly, I stopped gaining weight when I stopped trying to lose it. Three years ago my doctor suggested gastric bypass surgery, but the idea seemed too extreme.  But in the fall, I saw my aunt who in the year since her WLS surgery had gone from beautiful to stunning and healthy. After several conversations with her, I felt much more positive about the surgery and approached my GP on Oct. 23 about having the surgery. We submitted an application to OHIP,  just a week before OHIP made the requirements for approval much stricter. Originally my consultation with Dr. Graber was scheduled for Feb. 12, but at the end of Nov. I got a call saying they had a cancellation, and my consult was moved up to Dec. 1. After meeting with Dr. Graber and his staff, I felt reassured about the benefits of the surgery and more knowledgeable about the risks and decided to proceed, and by the end of the week, my surgery was booked for Feb. 4. I was very nervous about telling my family, but after a few weeks of doing research on the surgery, something inside just clicked. I became less apprehensive about the surgery and started being excited, and telling my family just seemed natural. My husband is very supportive of my decision, and my sister has agreed to take care of my 2 kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats and 2 fish the 6 days we'll be gone. My surgery is now four weeks away, and I am working on getting into the best shape possible in preparation for surgery, walking every day, eating right (and chewing very slowly!) and drinking lots of water.