Kate B.
I'm likin' this...
Jun 20, 2007
With weight topping out at 296, which would have been Friday/Saturday, I have lost ten pounds already. I'm at 286 and this is just Wednesday. Schweet. ;)
omg
Jun 17, 2007
I did it!! Or rather I should say, Dr. Hamad did it. ;) I can hardly believe it's all over with. I won't lie, it was scary as heck, but that was more just nerves than anything.
Oh, and I have to concur with the ladies and gents who say that calling this the 'easy way out' -- only comes from the mouths of the completely clueless.
My surgery was scheduled for 1:30pm. I had to be to the hospital by 11:30, get all my ducks in a row, and after waiting in pre-op holding with my mum, Dr. Hamad dropped in with her assistant (I keep wanting to say Dr. Weintraub but I don't think that's right) right on time. We talked for a bit, then she disappeared to make sure everything was in place in the OR, and ready to go...
Then my nurse gave me what she called "the margarita" -- it's a mild sedative to help calm you down... I remember being wheeled into the OR and being asked a couple of questions, then I really went under.
Afterward, the thing I had the most trouble with was breathing. First off, oxygen masks make and have always made me feel like I'm smothering (a little bit strange, no?). But I was too tired to really care, and I would fall asleep, only to have a nurse come over to me and wake me up, telling me I had to "breathe."
On and on this went, and they kept asking me if I had sleep apnea. I said no.
Finally they concluded that it must be the remnants of the anesthesia. This continued for the remainder of the day and every time I stopped breathing/got low on oxygen, I had a nurse and/or my mum on my back to start breathing properly again. It was confusing, because there were a lot of bells and whistles, but I came to know which alarms meant I wasn't breathing right and so I tried to adjust myself accordingly. So all night I kept getting waked up by nurses telling me to breathe. ;P
Fortunately though, it did turn out to be the anesthesia that was the problem, and my breathing returned to normal the next day. I am the world's biggest wimp but even so I had very few issues with the pain. Of course I didn't feel like doing handsprings, but it was, for the most part, very bearable.
No leaks, so I was able to start drinking liquids (one poor woman in a room not far from mine -- NOT a patient of Dr. Hamad's I might add -- 'failed' her leak test and so could not drink. :( )
Did very well, no issues except for the oxygen/breathing, and that resolved itself quickly. I got released yesterday.
AND NOW I'M ON THE OTHER SIDE!!! W00T!
can you tell i'm excited? ;)
Oh, and I have to concur with the ladies and gents who say that calling this the 'easy way out' -- only comes from the mouths of the completely clueless.
My surgery was scheduled for 1:30pm. I had to be to the hospital by 11:30, get all my ducks in a row, and after waiting in pre-op holding with my mum, Dr. Hamad dropped in with her assistant (I keep wanting to say Dr. Weintraub but I don't think that's right) right on time. We talked for a bit, then she disappeared to make sure everything was in place in the OR, and ready to go...
Then my nurse gave me what she called "the margarita" -- it's a mild sedative to help calm you down... I remember being wheeled into the OR and being asked a couple of questions, then I really went under.
Afterward, the thing I had the most trouble with was breathing. First off, oxygen masks make and have always made me feel like I'm smothering (a little bit strange, no?). But I was too tired to really care, and I would fall asleep, only to have a nurse come over to me and wake me up, telling me I had to "breathe."
On and on this went, and they kept asking me if I had sleep apnea. I said no.
Finally they concluded that it must be the remnants of the anesthesia. This continued for the remainder of the day and every time I stopped breathing/got low on oxygen, I had a nurse and/or my mum on my back to start breathing properly again. It was confusing, because there were a lot of bells and whistles, but I came to know which alarms meant I wasn't breathing right and so I tried to adjust myself accordingly. So all night I kept getting waked up by nurses telling me to breathe. ;P
Fortunately though, it did turn out to be the anesthesia that was the problem, and my breathing returned to normal the next day. I am the world's biggest wimp but even so I had very few issues with the pain. Of course I didn't feel like doing handsprings, but it was, for the most part, very bearable.
No leaks, so I was able to start drinking liquids (one poor woman in a room not far from mine -- NOT a patient of Dr. Hamad's I might add -- 'failed' her leak test and so could not drink. :( )
Did very well, no issues except for the oxygen/breathing, and that resolved itself quickly. I got released yesterday.
AND NOW I'M ON THE OTHER SIDE!!! W00T!
can you tell i'm excited? ;)
countdown
Jun 14, 2007
Oh man... I am such a wimp... taking these antibiotics on an empty stomach is leaving me so sick I can barely get the gumption to write. BUT - it's not as bad as yesterday and that Phosphosoda!! If I could keep that stuff down, I am sure I can keep these antibiotics down. :)
I got a call from the hospital around 5:30pm today... my surgery is scheduled for 1:30, so I will have to be there at 11:30. My mum is taking me...sigh...
I forgot to mention that my "last supper" on Tuesday was at the Outback. ;)
Yes I know you're not supposed to do it, but I did. Cheese fries, steak, salad, mashed potatoes. Yum. :)
I don't know if I'm going to have the ability to write anything here later. ;) I think I might just lie down for a bit and concentrate on not being sick!! lol
I got a call from the hospital around 5:30pm today... my surgery is scheduled for 1:30, so I will have to be there at 11:30. My mum is taking me...sigh...
I forgot to mention that my "last supper" on Tuesday was at the Outback. ;)
Yes I know you're not supposed to do it, but I did. Cheese fries, steak, salad, mashed potatoes. Yum. :)
I don't know if I'm going to have the ability to write anything here later. ;) I think I might just lie down for a bit and concentrate on not being sick!! lol
ai yai yai
Jun 13, 2007
That bowel prep. gak gak gak. It's everything everyone promised, and more. The two doses three hours apart, I literally almost puked both times I took it. I got deathly ill and tried valiantly not to lose it, because I knew I'd just have to take it again. :P
The liquid diet isn't so bad... I've done like the Hollywood Diet before, so I have an idea of what it's like, but it does kinda suck.. I see a package of Oreos and I want to grab a handful, or even tonight for example I happened to wander into the kitchen while my mum was preparing dinner (stupid of me!!!) and there was a perfectly done, yummy-looking roast chicken. My mouth watered at the sight of it... sigh... heh.
I actually feel a little bit sad about not being able to eat some of my favorite foods anymore...sort of wistful, or mournful, I'm not sure what the word is. But of course it's easy to ward off those feelings by reminding myself what poor health I'm in right now, how much my back is screaming, and I'm okay again.
Okay, so surgery is 48 hours away. I'm excited and scared...
The liquid diet isn't so bad... I've done like the Hollywood Diet before, so I have an idea of what it's like, but it does kinda suck.. I see a package of Oreos and I want to grab a handful, or even tonight for example I happened to wander into the kitchen while my mum was preparing dinner (stupid of me!!!) and there was a perfectly done, yummy-looking roast chicken. My mouth watered at the sight of it... sigh... heh.
I actually feel a little bit sad about not being able to eat some of my favorite foods anymore...sort of wistful, or mournful, I'm not sure what the word is. But of course it's easy to ward off those feelings by reminding myself what poor health I'm in right now, how much my back is screaming, and I'm okay again.
Okay, so surgery is 48 hours away. I'm excited and scared...
Having a go
Jun 09, 2007
Well, I can thank Margie for prompting me to keep a journal. I have had this account for a shade over a year and never did much of anything with it, but now I'm going to try to chronicle the rest of my experiences as they occur from this point (and I was an English/Writing major, shame on me!! 
).
I'll try to begin at the beginning here...I must have decided sometime around the beginning of 2006 that I wanted to check into gastric bypass surgery (my mother had it and I was really impressed with the results. I didn't have trouble with my weight until I was about 22, after having two kids and a ton of stress and of course I was one to eat when things went wrong....
But then, at work, (I worked at the airport) I hurt my back pretty badly. From the on I was back to work and then out again, because my back kept flaring up. Finally my doctor sent me to a pain management specialist, who gave me spinal steroid shots.
April 2006
Until then, I yo-yoed between 200 and 230. But the steroids really finished me off. While they did help the pain, I gained another 50 pounds! This of course did my back no favors in the long run, as it was something of a catch-22.
May 2006
So in May I had my first consult with Dr. Hamad. My insurance, which at that time was Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield, was being run through... often Anthem will cover gastric bypass, but my company had an exclusion in place (I don't know how I missed it, but I did) and so we couldn't really do much of anything else, although I did make nutritionist and psychology appointments for June.
June 2006
I "failed" my psych evaluation -- the evaluator felt I was too depressed to go through with it and not suffer consequences, so I had another appointment set for August with him. The nutritionist went over things with me and scheduled me back for late July, with a food diary kept over that time.
July and August 2006
My second trip to the nutritionist went well, and she said she would clear me for surgery. The second trip to the psychologist also went well, and he cleared me too. Well. There's two more hurdles out of the way...
I'll add some more to this later... ;)
).I'll try to begin at the beginning here...I must have decided sometime around the beginning of 2006 that I wanted to check into gastric bypass surgery (my mother had it and I was really impressed with the results. I didn't have trouble with my weight until I was about 22, after having two kids and a ton of stress and of course I was one to eat when things went wrong....
But then, at work, (I worked at the airport) I hurt my back pretty badly. From the on I was back to work and then out again, because my back kept flaring up. Finally my doctor sent me to a pain management specialist, who gave me spinal steroid shots.
April 2006
Until then, I yo-yoed between 200 and 230. But the steroids really finished me off. While they did help the pain, I gained another 50 pounds! This of course did my back no favors in the long run, as it was something of a catch-22.
May 2006
So in May I had my first consult with Dr. Hamad. My insurance, which at that time was Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield, was being run through... often Anthem will cover gastric bypass, but my company had an exclusion in place (I don't know how I missed it, but I did) and so we couldn't really do much of anything else, although I did make nutritionist and psychology appointments for June.
June 2006
I "failed" my psych evaluation -- the evaluator felt I was too depressed to go through with it and not suffer consequences, so I had another appointment set for August with him. The nutritionist went over things with me and scheduled me back for late July, with a food diary kept over that time.
July and August 2006
My second trip to the nutritionist went well, and she said she would clear me for surgery. The second trip to the psychologist also went well, and he cleared me too. Well. There's two more hurdles out of the way...
I'll add some more to this later... ;)
