bonniebsailing
Hello. I am 56 years old and scheduled for gastric bypass surgery (probably open) on 7/24/07. I weigh 268 pounds and am just under 5’7,’ and have a huge medical history. I am an insulin-dependent diabetic, have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, kidney problems, horrible sleep apnea, and don’t fight infection well. I had a triple heart bypass six years ago and three years of subsequent infections and additional surgeries. I now have very little energy and am disabled. I went in for a lap band in January, only to awake in the recovery room to hear the procedure had been aborted: my liver was too big and there wasn’t enough room to get the band on. I was devastated. It had taken me nearly 18 months of steady work to get to the OR. I had gone through all the emotions: saying good bye to food as my friend, cleaning out the house of all food, except what I would need post-op, packed up all my summer clothes and dropped them off at the local Goodwill. I had done a tremendous amount of research before my surgery and never had I seen any mention of problems with liver size in inserting a lap-band. My kind doctor told me to try and lose 30 pounds and we could try it again. I felt like shouting “If I could lose the weight on my own, I wouldn’t be here”. Shortly after that I lost the sight in my left eye from a combination of the diabetes and lack of oxygen at night. I had been diagnosed with severe sleep apnea but couldn’t use the C-PAP machine; the pressure to keep my airway open was too high for my small ear tubes to accommodate, even after having tubes inserted. I had surgery on my eye and have gotten some sight back but the problem can reoccur at any time, either in the same eye or the other. My lack of oxygen caused my liver to enlarge and probably affected every other organ in my body. WSL is my ONLY hope of regaining my life and stopping the further deterioration of all of body organs, including my brain. I realize that I am a high-risk patient but no matter how the surgery turns out, I know I am making the right and only decision. I have a lot of confidence in my wonderful surgeon, Dr. Geoffrey Nadzam and my team of regular doctors, who are at a different hospital. The next 13 days will be an emotional roller coaster and I will accept all the support I can get.
