June Allison

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On June 6th I had an upper GI scope and my stomach open was found to be covered with scar tissue so they stretched the opening.  Food goes down better now.  They said that I might have to have it done agaiin if problems continue.

I just returned for Dallas.  I have now lost a little over 40 lbs.  Tomorrow I go back to U T Southwestern to meet the people in the G I Lab.  They will be looking for scar tissue that may be obstructing my stomach opening.  Hopefully, that is what they will find and the eating and acid reflux problem will be fixed in a few painless minutes.  That will put me in another numbers' group - the 1 in 30 group to which this happens.  I've had this testing several times so I have no problem with it having to be done.  The main pain will be the cost of the gasoline for back to back trips to Dallas.  I have given permission to be tested in a project comparing DNA of family members and their weight loss after surgery.  They are attempting to prove a genetic pattern in obesity and weight loss.  I think it will be very interesting.

Surgery went well even with complications.  It appears that at some time before surgery my stomach had entered my hernia and became lodged between my heart and lungs.

Second day after surgery I became one of the unlucky 15% of surgery patients who develop breathing and heart arrithymia and spent following 6 days in ICU.  I was allowed to return home on day 8 after surgery with my mental stress level at an all time high.

As of today everything has returned nearly to normal physically. It seems I have yet to completely learn the lesson of bite size and proper chewing. So, more food comes back up than goes down on some days.  I have to admit that even with my trials of learning to eat properly I still feel so much better than before surgery.  It is indeed a new life.  Just getting my hernia fixed would have been worth the trip.  For the first time in years I can bend over and breathe at the same time.  My heart rate is back to normal and I can do so much more than before surgery.

Well I am pre-registered,  Green for GO!  March, 17, 2008 is the day and arrival time is 5:30 in the morning.  I am nervous but also excited.  My hiatial hernia has been killing me as of late and so it has been easy to stay on diet.  Dallas here I come.

Once again ~  Surgery date has been cancelled.  I have to go back to gastro-intestinal for more prodding cameras.  Is someone trying to tell me something?  After the first of the year my out of procket will go up dramatically.  Got to try to get in before then.  Monday the squeaky whell will be at it again becasue I haven't yet received the testing appointment from gastro.  I gave then a quiet week.  Now I bug them. 

Oh happy day! I talked with Ryan at U T Southwestern in Dallas this morning and my surgery has been set for November 27, 2007, at 7:00 A.M.. There is a very tiny chance that it will be moved up to Nov. 13th, but I'm not going to set my hopes on that. It would mean that someone else's surgery has been postponed or canceled for some reason. Dr. Puzziferri was in surgery every Monday and Tuesday but for some reason has cut back to doing surgery only on every other Tuesday, and she only sees patients on Wednesday now. I start my pre-surgery diet on November 5th, just in case surgery is moved up. Just happens that I like the food on pre-surgery diet. I am having the Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass Surgery.

Well, I just heard from Cindy L. at U T Southwestern in Dallas that my surgery has been rescheduled.  She didn't have the information because person who schedules surgery was out today.  You can believe I WILL be sitting by the phone.!  

Success in my journey is so close that I can taste it.  I am scheduled for surgery Tuesday, July 24. 2007, at 7:15 a.m.  Since I first met my surgeon in January of this year things have moved slowly but safely for me.  I found out that I don't have Barretts Esophagus but that I do have Diabetes Type II.  I also will have the hernia in my esophagus repaired at the time of surgery.

As for the medication that I take at this time I can see that list dwindling after surgery.  Boy will that help the pocket book.