dee238
Catching up
Oct 18, 2006
October 18, 2006
It has been a while since I have updated. Not much new here, still dealing with the one incision that we are cleaning and packing. It is coming along very well, no pain and it seems to be shrinking as less packing is needed. I am having a difficult time exercising. My knees are so bad and my arthritus in my right hip is really holding me back. I have appointments on the 20th and the 27th to start a series of protein injections in both knees. I have no cartilidge and it's just bone on bone. I have to get more active b/c at my last visit to the surgeon I had a good weight loss but am losing too much muscle instead of fat. I bought a sport strap and started to use it and now I have an injured left shoulder. I feel like I am falling apart. I thought the more I lost the more I would be able to do but it seems like the opposite. It is very frustrating and I know it will eventually get better but geeeeshh, I am down almost 50 lbs. so you would think there would be more mobility and less pain.
I go back to work on the 28th and am hoping I can handle it. I know I need to take it all one day at a time and maybe I won't freak out like I seem to be doing now....lol. I keep reading the posts and member profiles and it really helps to keep things in perspective. I need to make an appointment for my one month check up next week and will be sure to post my results. Until then.........I Eat to Live not Live to Eat!
My New Journey(from my old profile)
Oct 13, 2006
I have been overweight most of my adult life. I was turned down for gastric bypass surgery by my insurance so I decided to self pay. I have to get this done and won't let the insurance company hold me back.
I have my date: Sept. 22, 2006. My 22 year old daughter is having the surgery on the same day, same doctor and we will be sharing a hospital room!! We are so excited to finally be on our way. =)
I have my date: Sept. 22, 2006. My 22 year old daughter is having the surgery on the same day, same doctor and we will be sharing a hospital room!! We are so excited to finally be on our way. =)
August 25, 2006
28 days to go!! I am on the pre-op diet and plan to stay on it until surgery day. I know that the more weight I lose, the better the outcome for surgery. I am nervous and excited at the same time. I know that I have to get this done or end up living in the prison of my body until I die and I am not willing to let that happen. I want to be around to see my daughter get married and have kids. I want to begin a life for myself that I have kept on hold so long that I don't know any other way of life. I want to move up in my career and my social life. I need to finally do something for me. I spent so much of my life taking care of others. My mother....my father.....until they passed away. (I don't regret that I spent that time caring for them). I just know that they wanted more out of life for me and by God I am going to do them proud. I really don't want to get to the point where my daughter has to spend 10 + years taking care of me instead of living her life. I know how that is and it really isn't the path to a happily ever after ending. So I have begun my journey along with my daughter and we will succeed!!! With each other to lean on and vent to, it will be less of a struggle and such big rewards. I will try to keep up on my journal but bear with me, I was never one to keep a journal or diary. I think now is the time to start one since this will be the beginning of my life in so many ways.
Well 25 days to go and things are going so fast. The fact that we have a Hurricane coming doesn't help matters at all. Trying to get our appointments made between Labor Day and Hurricane Ernesto has proven to be more then just a pain in the #%?. We aren't giving in though. We may have a couple of really long days with appointments but we are going to get it done and hope the surgery doesn't get moved back due to the storm.
I know my daughter and I are starting to stress a bit and rightfully so but we need to work on staying calm and use each other to lean on from here on out. This is not only an emotional journey but also a financial one as we are both doing self pay. Neither of our insurance companies will pay even if it is medically necessary. It is so frustrating but we won't let that get us down. It has been just the two of us for a very long time. We are financially ok but make no mistake, these surgeries are going to really put a weight on our finances. The point is, you can't take it with you and if we don't have the surgery that would probably be the case. Gone with money in the bank...lol. Not much of a future it that...right? So from here on out I will not complain about the cost of the surgeries.
Counting the days!!! I will update in a couple days if we have power from the storm that is approaching.
Counting the days!!! I will update in a couple days if we have power from the storm that is approaching.
September 2, 2006
I went to the doctor's office on Friday the 1st to attend an educational class that is required before surgery. I weighed myself and found that I had lost another 8.5 pounds. This brings my two week loss to 16 pounds. I guess the pre-op diet is working. :) The class was pretty much all the things I had learned when I researched the surgery on line but it was nice to meet some of the other patients. There was a nurse there that will be taking care of us in the hosptial. He was attending the classes so he can see what the doctor's expect. He was very nice and very informative. We are really getting excited.....20 MORE DAYS!!!
September 6, 2006
Yesterday was a real killer for us. We showed up at the hosptial at 7:45 am. (our appt. was at 9) to pre-pay and pre-register and do all of our pre-op tests. We both had to be back at the doctor's office at 10:15 am. for our pre-op appointments with Dr. Perez and figured the sooner we started the better. What a joke that was! I am slow....use a cane and am almost disabled and could have done things faster then the people in this outpatient department.
By 10 am. all we had done was the pre-pay, registration and blood work. We had to leave and come back for the chest x-ray and EKG. We go to the doctor and our last two classes for our surgery and return to the hopital at 3:30 pm. We didn't finish with the last two tests until after 6 pm. Needless to say we were tired, frustrated and hungry. We both had one 8 oz. protien shake and one protien bar all day. I think we were ready to kill each other by the time we finally finished and got something to eat. On the up side we are finished with all of our pre-op. All that remains is our visit to our PCP to get our letter of clearance and the surgery on the 22nd!!!! Yes only 16 more days. I can't wait to get past the surgery and over to the losing side.
By 10 am. all we had done was the pre-pay, registration and blood work. We had to leave and come back for the chest x-ray and EKG. We go to the doctor and our last two classes for our surgery and return to the hopital at 3:30 pm. We didn't finish with the last two tests until after 6 pm. Needless to say we were tired, frustrated and hungry. We both had one 8 oz. protien shake and one protien bar all day. I think we were ready to kill each other by the time we finally finished and got something to eat. On the up side we are finished with all of our pre-op. All that remains is our visit to our PCP to get our letter of clearance and the surgery on the 22nd!!!! Yes only 16 more days. I can't wait to get past the surgery and over to the losing side.
8 days to go!! Yesterday we went to our PCP and got our letter of clearance for our surgery. That was the last thing we needed to complete. So now we wait! I am so excited and nervous. I just keep thinking how wonderful life will be when we become members of the loser's club.....lol. Who'd a thunk....that would be a good thing?
September 21, 2006
Tomorrow is the big day!! We are to arrive at the hospital at 5:30 am. Surgery is scheduled for 9:00 (mine) and 11:30 (Christina). I would be a liar if I didn't say I was nervous and scared. I am also excited and thrilled to have a chance to change my life and finally take control of this long over due problem of Morbid Obesity. I know I won't sleep tonight but I guess I can catch up when I go in for surgery. :) This time tomorrow I will on my way to becoming a big looser! I know that I will always remember September 22, 2006 as the beginning of a new, healthy and rewarding life for me and my daughter.
September 26,2006
Surgery was four days ago. I know you are wondering why have I waited so long to write how my experience with surgery went? I guess it is because the first two days I was in the hospital and the next two days I was home thinking of the last two days and just how to describe one of the most exciting times in my life, second only to the birth of my beautiful daughter. Surgery day lasted forever. We arrived at the hospital early, just after 5 am. We went to admitting, got our arm bands and waited to be taken to pre-op. Once we were taken to pre-op we were told to put on our hospital gowns and wait. Well wait was the key. My surgery was originally scheduled for 9:30 am and my daughter's at 11:00am. I went in at noon and my daughter was around 2:30 or so. The good part was they actually did put us in the same hospital room. Now the fun really begins. I have to say that we got through the surgery without complications but we both were suffering from the gas pains. everything in and all the fluids and vitamins along with meds. It gets a bit overwhelming bFor some reason we did not have the morphine pumps like the other patients we arrived with that had the same surgery we had by the same surgeon. We were at the mercy of the Nurses!! Remember you will not be getting any quality sleep while in the hospital! Every couple of hours, someone is coming in to do some kind of test. Either blood pressure check, or blood work, blood surgar levels, etc.....it is never ending. The day after surgery we had to have an upper GI to see if there were any leaks. The test is painless but the stuff you have to drink is pretty yucky. Good news, NO LEAKS! Sunday we got to go home and we couldn't wait to sleep in our own beds and relax. We still suffered through the gas pains but other then that everything was going pretty well. No problems with our diet other then trying to get ut gets easier each day that passes.
September 29, 2006
Today I started to have problems with the incision on my left rib cage area. There seemed to be some pain and swelling so I began putting hot compresses on it. Low and behold the next morning I pushed down on the area and a bunch of fluid burst through the incission. I called the doctor's office to find out that the surgeon is away for the next five days but a nurse would see me. Turns out they had to cut a couple stitches and open it up more so that it could be cleaneed and packed with gauze daily in order to let the infection drain and the pocket that formed close from within. This was pretty painful until we got it cleaned up and drained but now the pain is tolerable. Understand that this is a common occurance and shouldn't end up being a big deal. This is just a small bump in the road. I am glad I caught it before it ended up getting worse and the infection did not go into my system and cause any further problems. I have a follow up scheduled for Tuesday the 3rd of October and will see how the healing is coming along then. I did weigh myself and I am down to 392 lbs. That puts me down 32 lbs. since my first appointment and 13 lbs. down from the first week after surgery. I can live with that!!! I have to say that even with the gas pains and the infection that this is the best thing I have ever done for myself. I do not regret it for one single second! I am so excited to be on the losing side and can't wait until I can become more active and live my new life happier and healthier.
October 3, 2006
I had the follow up for my infection on the one incision and the doctor says it is healing well and we just need to keep packing it daily until it closes completely. I am happy to say I have lost a total of 20 lbs. since surgery and am down to 385.5 lbs. Down 39 lbs since my first appointment with my weight loss surgeon. It is so wonderful to see it on the scale. I was thinking maybe the surgery didn't work but then seeing it with my own eyes really makes me feel encouraged. Next appointment is scheduled for 10-10-06.
October 10, 2006
Today I had my two week check up. Actually it was really 18 days from my surgery but that is because of the infection I have. Everything is healing well and the infection is under control. I just have to continue to pack it daily until it closes and heals up. The best part of the visit is I lost an additional 7.5 lbs. in the last week. This is just amazing! It is so strange to see the weight go down and know that I will never see these numbers again on the scale. I have another two weeks off from work and should be returning on October 28th. This will be a real challenge for me since my hours are very long and irregular. I will have to really plan my meals ahead to be sure to stay on track. The good thing about this is I have two weeks to lose more weight before I have to get back to work. This is the best thing I have ever done and without question I have no regrets what so ever!!!
About Me
Sunny South, FL
Location
26.6
BMI
Surgery
09/22/2006
Surgery Date
Aug 20, 2006
Member Since
Before & After
rollover to see after photo
2 weeks prior to surgery
405lbs
My daughter and I had bypass on the same day! I was 424 lbs!
165lbs
