I'm on the other side! Had my surgery on New Year's Eve and went home last night (12 hrs earlier than anticipated.) The surgery went pretty well except I had some adhesions she had to work around. I have seven access points plus the drain.

The bariatric staff at St. V's was great. I felt like the only patient there. Don't plan on getting any sleep after surgery. They get you up every two hours all night long so that you can walk - to the BR or in the hall. Every hour you're awake you need to use the spirometer to keep your lungs clear.

I lost 10 lbs before surgery, without trying. I certainly didn't cut back on anything, but I did get the flu right before Christmas. After surgery, I gained 5 lbs! I know this is water weight.

I am now home and overwhelmed with keeping track of everything. I have several medicines, vitamins, Lovenox, food, water, etc. to keep track of. I am excited though that of the 11 meds I used before surgery, I am only supposed to take FOUR now! I'm going to try to make a schedule for myself so that I don't forget anything.

01/03/04
I'm still doing ok, although not getting in all I am supposed to eat/drink. I am full most of the time so it's hard to get in all I need.

I started having left shoulder pain on Friday afternoon. One of the long-term post-ops told me I needed to check with the doctor ASAP since it could be a sign of a leak. The doctor on call thinks my drain tube is pushing on my diaphragm and told me to come Monday (instead of Friday) to have it removed.

My blood sugars are holding at normal without insulin.

01/05/04
Shoulder pain went away on Saturday evening so I decided to wait on having the drain removed. It still seems to be doing its job so I don't want to have it removed too soon. I am anxious to see how much I've lost, though.

I went out today by myself for the first time since surgery. Felt good to get out of the house. I ate at noon and then didn't get back until 8pm. It's the first time I actually felt hungry. I also haven't been uncomfortably full today. Maybe I just need to wait longer between meals.

I got a couple of kinds of protein powder today since I'm way short from just eating. I hope they taste at least tolerable. I bought two big bottles of chewable Meier vitamins (buy one, get one free) and they are yucky. I might have to try giving them to my grandchildren.

01/14/04
I'm two weeks post-op now and doing well. I did have to make a special trip to have my drain removed when it again started poking me under the ribs. The pain woke me up at 3am and after an early morning drive of 2.5 hrs, it was quickly removed (along with the pain.)

I am easily getting my required protein, but already bored with the full liquid diet. The prospect of four more weeks of this is depressing. I love the Nectar protein drinks and have also enjoyed several of the ProPlete flavors.

I don't know how my scale compares to my physician's. I got it after my office visit. Next visit I will take it along. On my scale, I am down about 14 lbs from the day before surgery and a total of 22 from my highest weight. I hope the weight is somewhat comparable to that at the doctor.

01/21/04
Three weeks down. I lost really well last week - about a pound a day. This week it's not coming off so quickly. Today I weighed and had gained 3 lbs. That troublesome water weight again... I think I'm down about 20 lbs since surgery. I weigh 303 without clothes and 305 with. Sometimes I think it should be more, and then I slap myself up side the head and tell me that is nearly one pound a day for three weeks! Five more lbs will get me to the 200s. I haven’t been there in a long time.

I will be glad to return to work next week. I'm watching too much TV and there are a lotttt of food commercials on TV. The head hunger really gets to me. Today I was really busy and hardly thought about eating.

I went out to eat today for the first time. I went with the friends that had taken me down for surgery. We were having breakfast at 1130am, so I had soup – Tomato Florentine. I expected more of a plain soup, but it had pasta, spinach, etc. in it. I had to eat around the stuff. I got full on my soup while my friends were eating eggs, toast, hash browns, and sausage gravy. It wasn’t too bad, although I wish there had been more for me to choose from on the menu. I considered just having an egg, but decided to be adventuresome.

01/25/04
Well, I go back to work tomorrow. I'm sort of looking forward to it since I've been bored, but I haven't accomplished nearly everything I wanted to do while I was off. I thought this surgery might cure my procrastination too!!

I worked all day doing taxes today - it's my winter part-time job. I started to fade after about 6 hrs today. My body's just not used to it after 3 weeks of rest. I'm scheduled to work 20 hrs at the tax office this week, besides my 40+ at my regular job. I hope I can make it through.

Still haven't reached the 200's yet! I only appear to have lost about 2 lbs this week. I'm hoping once I go back to work the weight will drop off a little quicker due to the increased activity.

Got my approval letter and the flu this week! Our insurance is changing bariatric coverage the first of the year, so I may have wasted my time going through the process. I probably will have to use another physician at a facility that is company owned (I work for a hospital corporation.) I will call today and cross my fingers that perhaps Dr. Gupta has a cancellation for December.
12/16/03
I'VE GOT A DATE! I went ahead and scheduled for 1/7/4, even though I'm not sure my insurance will cover my chosen hospital. I asked my HR director to intercede and she emailed me back today saying she found something that might help... I hope tomorrow is another good day - one where she points out the plan wording that will allow me to proceed.

12/22/03
Well, no luck so far. I found out Friday that the insurance co. absolutely would NOT cover surgery at my chosen hospital after 2003. Made for a bummer weekend, although I did have a get together with my grandchildren. That made it better.

I was waiting all day for the patient financial person to call me and tell me how much it would be self-pay. I was shocked with the $20,000 figure! Of course, it was out of my price range.

I called later today to cancel and got a very helpful woman who wanted to know why I was canceling. I told her it wouldn't be covered after next week. She acted like she might be able to help me and said she would call me back. No news yet as of end of business, but I'm hopeful again that she will find me a surgeon who can work me in. I'm not choosy at this point. Prayers are in order!
12/28/03
Two days and a wake up before I move to the losing side. I was pretty apprehensive about the surgery risks early on, but now that doesn't seem to be an issue for me. Now I worry about whether I will be able to make the lifestyle changes necessary to be successful. I am a compulsive overeater who really likes sweets. The thought of doing without is numbing!

Two friends of mine will be taking me down Monday night. I have my nutrition class first thing Tuesday morning and then surgery Wednesday morning. (I would have liked the class a little in advance, but once the whole process got rolling, it seemed to take on a life of its own.) They will stay through surgery, then go home and return to pick me up.

I'm going to miss my parents Wednesday. My dad is working (but would have gone down if I wanted) and my mom is still in Florida. I am supposed to be in Florida right now, but couldn't do both that and finish up work prior to surgery. Forgoing Florida was a small price to pay to get surgery scheduled next week.

I have spent a lot of time with my loved ones this weekend - both human and food. I went to a favorite home style Amish cooking restaurant last night and ended up with 15 family members there with me. I called it my "Farewell to Food" party. Today I had Chinese with my best friends. I actually think I've burned myself out on eating - so much that nothing sounds good right now. I'll have one last good meal on Monday and then eat lighter on Tuesday. The only restriction placed on me by the surgeon is NPO after midnight, but I have heard that it's not good to pig out right before surgery.