Darkeesha S.

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4 days now.  Still have that darn gas pain in my shoulder.  I can't wait till it goes away.  I would have to say that that was/is the worst part of this whole ordeal.  I did get to eat my pureed bean and bacon soup and boy was it delish!!!!

I think when I am done with these clear liquids, the mention of broth or protein drinks will cause me to BARF!!!!  Jello is still my friend though!  Can't wait...full liquids tomorrow.  Bean and bacon soup...here I come (pureed and strained of course!)

So, it's been 3 days and I am doing way better than I thought I would be.  I actually feel good enough to go back to work on Monday but.....NOT!  I DON'T WANT TO!! LOL!!!  It is nice to have the time off, especially since I don't have to be in bed all day. 

Anywhoo today is the last day of my clear liquids and surprisingly I am not as hungry as I thought I would be.  Still I can't wait to eat something that is a little heartier than the clear liquids.  All of a sudden liquified bean and bacon soup sounds GRRRRRRREAT!!!  That gas pain in my shoulder though is still there.  It seems as if everytime I have to burp, I can feel it come up to my chest, then it just shoots over to my shoulder.  Bummer because that really hurts!  Other than that, all is well, but I need to make an extra effort to get all my water in!!!

Okay, so I took the easy way out and cut and pasted my thread from the message board...LOL!!!!


Gooooooood Morning All!  As you can tell, I am doing just great.  Sailed thru like a champ and feeling pretty good! I had done lots of reading, and all of your experiences helped me prepare mentally and emotionally; however, there were still a few surprises for me.

1.  I was surpised at how good I felt immediately following surgery.  I felt a burning sensation right across my belly, but once I told the nurse about that, she put something in my IV that made it go away JUST LIKE THAT...hmmm imagine that   Also, I was surprised how much my throat and neck hurt.  I found out later that I had one of those tubes put down my throat...didn't expect that!  My chest was a little tight as well.

2.  I was in the recovery room a lot longer than I thought I would be.  I had to be at the hospital at 0500 and my surgery was done and over at 0955.  I did not get to my room until around 5pm because there was no rooms available.  I wanted to get to my room and get comfortable (TV, Phone) but it was all good.  I was dozing on and off anyway and they let my husband come back there with me around 1 pm because it was going to be such a long wait for the room.   I was a little bummed though because I wanted to get to walking as soon as possible to prevent that gas pain in my shoulder.  Nope...too late, but time I was able to leave the recovery room the gas had already settled in my shoulder and that was painful.  But when I got to my room, made a few phone calls, I walked the halls for about 30 minutes.  It really helped.  Take your IPOD if you have one!!! 

3.  I could not drink anything (not even ice chips) until 4pm (the nurses wouldn't let me...doctors orders!)   Finally I was able to order chicken broth, apple juice, and sugar free strawberry jello.  It was the best tastin' stuff!  Made my throat feel much better.

4.  The doctors will go in and update your family after the surgery is over while you are in recovery.  If your family is not familar with the procedure, make sure they take notes of what the doc says (even if they are, it is probably still a good idea to have them write down what the doc tells them).  When my husband came into the recovery room to see me, he told me that the surgeron found "something" and had to repair it before he could do the surgery.  He said it was something having to do with my diaphram.  I was like "WHAT???? and you DON'T REMEMBER WHAT HE SAID???!!!!  ARGH!!!!!!"  So that was a little irritating for me.  I asked the nurses what they thought it could be and one told me that it was probably a hiatial hernia.  The doc confirmed that the next day.  He said there was a bulge at the bottom of my esophagus (common in obese people) that he did repair prior to the surgery.  Oh okay....

5.  The morning after surgery, I was still surprised at how little pain I felt in my abdominal area.  Shoulder, thoat, and neck was still hurting though.  The nurse came in at 5am to help me prepare for a shower.  I saw my incisions for the first time.  Not bad.  I had 5 relatively small incisions secured by staples.  1 right under my breastbone, 1 on each side of my belly button, 1 above my belly button and 1 further over to the left (port site-a little larger than the rest).  I took pictures of them and will post them on my profile later this afternoon (nope...after 2 c-sections I am not ashamed!!)  My surgeon came in to check on me, the nurse removed my staples and replaced them with steri strips, and I was free to go.  They gave me an extra binder which I was thankful for....oh the binder...after surgery, my abdominal area was wrapped very tightly in an elastic binder (very much like an exercise belt with velcro).  The pressure it provides is very comforting.

6.  Upon discharge, I was still feeling pretty good, but slowly as the pain meds wore off, I became VERY aware of my incisions.  We had to drive 45 minutes home, but we stopped at Books a Million and Mardels before going.  By the time I got to the pharmacy on post to get my prescription filled, I was in a lot of pain in my abdominal area.  I was given liquid Lortab, but the post pharmacy only had the pill form so I had to go to Walmart.  By the time we got there, my husband had to push me around in the wheelchair because I could hardly walk.  While we were there, I bought everything I would need for the clear and full liquid phases of my diet.  The lady in the pharmacy gave me a spoon too, so by the time we got back in the car, I took my first dosage!!!

7.  When I got home, my kids were so happy to see me, but I could not pick them up.  Pained me a litte, but it was all good.  When the meds kicked in, I felt TONS better.  I had a cup of chicken broth and then was able to burp and pass gas.  The pain in my shoulder began to lighten up a bit, but this morning, I am still struggling with that pain in my should, neck, and throat, but it is all manageable.

8.  And lastly (whew!!!), I STILL AM NOT HUNGRY (pleasant surprise)....so be sure to get in your protein drinks!!! 

My docs instructions were to not weigh on any scale except in his office.  Hmmmm.....I wondered why.  Couldn't help myself so I weighed when I got home(how harful could that be?!)....even with liquids only....I gained 5 lbs!!!!  No wonder he said don't weigh.  I am not worried about it because it HAS to be fluid and I fully expect the scale to begin to move here in a little while, plus at this stage, I am more focused on doing the right thing to heal properly.  I've read that you may not even lose weight during this phase anyway, which is completely fine with me.  I am just SUPER excited that I got the procedure done and on the way to the NEW me!!!

Thanks to all of you who have posted your experiences, answered my questions, and supported me along the way.  Now I just hope that this post will help someone else.

Lots of love to you all!!! 

Well, I the big day is almost here.  Right now I am sitting in a room at the Rathgeber House (a really nice hospitality house) across the street from the hospital where my lap band surgery is to take place tomorrow.  Today was a really busy day.  It started with my preadmission appointment at the hospital.  I had a slight scare as the nurse sent my EKG out to be read by someone else.  She assured me that everything was fine, but she just wanted someone else to take a look at it.  A little scary.....but everything turned out ok.  Then I was off to a 3 hour nutrition class at my surgeon's office.  The class was GREAT!!  I learned a lot.  I was really glad that my husband attended with me so that I did not have to go and explain everything to him.  Then I had my pre-op appt with my surgeon.  All clear.  I was down 11lbs so I was very happy about that because I had not done everything the way I was supposed to.  Also, cheated on the clear liquids, but it was really a learning experience.  I had given my son a small bag of cheetos and before I knew it, I had popped a few in my mouth.  Boy did I savor those, but I felt really bad about it afterwards because I was like, how can I expect to succeed if I can't even do this for two days!  But I quickly got over it as I realized that I am not strong enough to be around things that I am not supposed to have.  I just hope that Dr. Warnock won't see them floating around in my stomach since before I started the clear liquids I had to drink a bottle of magnesium citrate to completely clean out my system! 

So now I am here experiencing a plethora of emotions as I come to grips with my new way of eating.  I think the clear liquid phase is going to be really hard for me. Although chicken broth is quite tasty, I think I may tire of it quickly.  I think I 'd be able to deal with the full liquids a little better and I think I will do really well with the mushies.  I am all about flavor, not too much on sweets, so once I am able to eat pureed chicken I think I will be fine. 

I sure feel like I am in food "mourning", but then when I think about how beneficial wls will be to me and my quality of life, I get motivated all over again!

I will be doing a lot of praying.....

Ok, so here is what has happened so far on my journey to weight loss:

I was diagnosed with high blood pressure in June 08 and was prescribed meds for it.  It took until about Nov to get the type and dosage right.  75 grams Metatoporol and 25 grams hydrochlorothiazide (water pill).  Even after being diagnosed with HBP, I still felt that I could just be disciplined and lose the weight on my own.  NOT

November 5, 2008, I spoke with my PCP concerning wls.  She put me in for a consult at the hospital here on post.  I really wanted to go to Dr. Warnock, 45 minutes away because I had heard so much about him and know several people who had both the RNY and lap band done by him, but I was willing to meet the doctor here.  Plus having surgery done here would be much more convenient.  I received a call back for an appointment with the surgeon here that same day which almost never happens with referrals.  I set my appointment for the next day in the afternoon.

November 6, 2008.  After waiting several hours to see the doc (the clinic was full - looked like some type of screening going on and I didn't mind), the nurse called me in.  I filled out some paperwork and waited another 15 min for the doc.  He came in, looked at my paperwork and said hmmmm, we won't be able to do your surgery on the 24th.  I was like "the 24th of what?"  I mean I know there are a series of tests that must be done prior to the surgery, plus he hadn't even spoken with me about the surgery, so surely he couldn't have meant this month?.....But he did!!  Here it is the 6th of the month and he wanted to my surgery on the 24th...something just didn't sound right and it did not help that he was new to the hospital as well.  I know he's probably done many surgeries before, but I couldn't help but feel like I was going to be one of the "numbers" he needed to get qualified for something.  Now I could be thinking too deep, but that is how I felt.  Anyway, I asked why and he said that I needed an echocardiogram to determine whether there was damage to my heart because I had taken some form phentermine and the results would not be back in time.  So he closed my file, told me that his secretary should be calling me in Jan.  I asked when was I going to get the chance to talk to him about surgery.  He said in some group meeting in Jan and left.  I went back to my PCP and asked if she would put in a referral for a second opinion. 

December 3, 2008.  Followup with PCP concerning blood pressure.  Everything fine BP stable.  She looked into the computer and saw that my referral for Dr. Warnock was approved and that the surgeon here in the hospital had set up some appointments for the echocardiogram, nutrition consult, and the psychiatric eval.  After the appt with my PCP, I went to Internal Medicine to schedule my echocardigram, and called for an appt with Dr. Warnock.  The earliest appt they had was Dec 29.  I TOOK it. 

December 8, 2008.  Echocardiogram.  For those who don't know, an echocardiogram is an ultrasound of the heart.  It took about 45 minutes.  I had to go pee in the middle of it. 

December 10, 2008.  Preop appt with PCP.  We just talked about the surgery, how I was doing etc.  Told me that the results of my echocardiogram showed that I have HBP and have had it for SOME time.  Scary!!  Got walk in appt for EKG that day.  Our internal medicine people are really nice, gave me a copy of EKG results to take with me to Dr. Warnock.  Scheduled appt to discuss echocardiogram results with surgeon, Dec 23rd. 

December 17, 2008.  Psych Eval.  Had to fill out a ton of papers.  Dr asked reason for having surgery.  Just wanted to make sure that I was doing it on my own will and not that someone else was forcing me to do it.  Discussed a little about the procedure and the effects.  I didn't have any other major psych problems (no abuse, drugs etc), so the appt didn't last that long.

December 19, 2008.  Dr Warnocks office calls and asks if I could come in the next day.  OF COURSE I COULD!!!  I was glad to change the date because now I could decide whether I was going to give the hospital surgeon a second chance at the appt on the 23rd or cancel after I met Dr. Warnock.

December 20, 2008.  Initial Consultation with Dr. Warnock (and my so supportive husband!).  First I was thrilled because it was a Sat appt and I didn't have to take any time off from work!  Second, Dr. Warnock was as nice and compassionate as everyone had described him to be.  I had done research on him too and all I had left to do was to meet him.  I was not disappointed.  He is such a kind and gentle man.  I made my decision right then.  After we talked, I went to the lady who schedules everything.  She was just as nice.  I gave her the copy of my EKG.  She explained that she would submit the paperwork to Tricare to for surgery approval.  Then she went over some other papers with me and explained some of the other things surrounding the surgery like the support groups, the pre-op diet, and the fact that Dr. Warnock requires his patients to go thru a certain nutrition class at a cost of $75 that is not covered by insurance.  Tricare will pay 100% of surgery costs, so of course I had no problem paying that.  She also told me that a week before surgery I would have to go on a pre-op diet of 2 protein shakes and 1 salad.  In the meantime, I could stop by the store in the office and check out the supplements, particularly the protein drinks to see which flavors I like BEFORE I had to drink them.  My husband and I purchased a 2lb container of Syntax Nectar Sweets Strawberry Mousse $32.50.  I detour here to tell you about the Strawberry Mousse....IT IS GOOD!!!  Tastes like strawberry milk (when I mixed it with milk that is, with water it is not that great but still drinkable) but the other flavors (Crystal Sky, Fuzzy Navel, Caribbean Cooler, Strawberry Kiwi) you mix with water are grrrrrreat!!!  I bought them online for $24.75 ea

December 20, 2008  - Jan 2, 2009  -  Friends staying for Christmas....no dieting....

December 22, 2008.  Cancelled appt with hospital surgeon.....never to be seen again!!!!!

January 5, 2009.  Joined OH and found lots of new friends!!! Yayee!!!! 

January 6, 2009.  Call from Dr. Warnock's office.  Surgery approved!!!  Date scheduled 4 Feb 2009.  Pre-op appts on 3 Feb 09.  Told my co-workers and friends. 

January 8, 2009.  Received information packet in the mail from Dr. Warnock's office containing pre and post op info and info about the hospital and a prescription for abdominal ultrasound.  Instructions to start pre-op diet 25 Jan 09.

January 15, 2009.  Preadmitted to United Regional Hospital in Wichita Falls, TX via telephone.

Jan 21, 09.  Abdominal ultrasound.  Checking for gall stones

Jan 22, 2009  All attempts at self prescribed pre-op diets FAILED.....I was hoping to get myself on the diet (knowing that there would probably be slip ups here and there) BEFORE I really had to do it.  But then I was torn between "why am I doing this now when I don't have to do it until Jan 25th"  So still I am struggling with that.  But then I later decided that I should start watching what I eat to get some practice in before the real deal, but I won't restrict myself to just protein shakes and salads.  Soooo.....today, I brought a salad for lunch, but my co worker was going out for German food, so I ordered Rahmschnitzel knowing that I probably won't be having that again for a very, very long time...if ever........

Ok, I think I have sufficiently caught up on just about all that occurred so far.  Now I just hope that I can keep this current.