"Dr. Consultations:rnrnI had a good first impression of Dr. Wilcox when I first met him. I met with two other doctors prior to meeting with him. A Dr. Ramos in Ohio & Dr. Afram in Washington D.C. I was a bit worried at the first meeting when I was asking some questions at the consultation with Dr. Wilcox and he didn't have some of the answers... I wanted to see his depth in answering individual's questions (I knew all of the answers after two years of research) but I wanted to see what his knowledge was like. Mind you when I find a doctor that I adore - I adore them for life. But a good friend I met online a week earlier (Patty) raved about him. If someone raves that much there has to be something there! So I wen't to my first visit with him. (Man am I lucky to have met Patty online; she's a gem!)rnrnDr. Ramos in Ohio seemed to have the best consultation and informed everyone with all of the information he had but the staff was not pleasant. I was late twenty minutes (it took four hours to drive there) and they would not allow me to attend the consultation. I had to go home and take another day off work, drive back, and attend the next one. That office didn't sit well with me after that. He does have a huge, fancy office building. You can tell just by looking at the office that he has done tons of surgery and is driving in a nice Porsche at night, lol!rnrnDr. Afram's office staff didn't sit well with me either. He works out of his house and I really (for lack of a better word) felt like part of a hurd of cattle visiting with him & his staff.rnrnSurgery Day:rnrnThe day of my surgery I was a bit freaked out... I had to ask Dr. Wilcox a question right before my surgery and you could tell he had been VERY busy that morning. I was definetely worried something would happen because he seemed to have surgeries back to back even before sunrise and through the rest of the day. But after I was put out it was smooth sailing from there... No worries. rnrnI remember being woken up by a nurse and asking me questions when I was coming out of anesthesia. Everything around me was blurry and I couldn't make out faces. I just wanted to go back to sleep. But I was so very thirsty. The nurse was a sweetheart - she gave me ice chips. All of a sudden my heart monitor started going off and I had an intense fever. The anesthesiologist told the nurse to monitor me very closely. They wrapped me in cold rags and my heart rate decreased and my fever went away. Mind you I'm in and out of sleep so it was no hassle on me. I could tell the nurse felt a bond with me because she wanted to take me to my regular room to say her goodbyes but didn't get a chance because two other nurses wanted to take me up so they could have a cigarette break, lol... I guess I was super nice to her (I'm always so nice when I'm sick; you are placing your well-being in the hands of others... you have to be!)rnrn2 day hospital stint:rnrnMy hospital stay was great. It was like being in a hotel room with people waiting on you hand & foot (man was I spoiled)! I needed pain medicine every couple of hours (I just don't sit well with pain) and I was constantly thirsty. Morphine did not work on me - but another pain killer did wonders (totally forgetting the name right now). I was the first one the next day wanting to get out of bed and walk around. But can I say for someone that works too hard & doesn't get enough sleep - that weekend had me well rested for days. As you read other people's experiences they mention gas is the worse... I called mine an \"alien baby.\" My gut was out like a pregnant woman and it was a bit of discomfort. I read horror stories of people needing help to wipe themselves after the bathroom. I was prepared for everything. But I guess I'm one of the lucky ones because I could do bathroom time on my own and walk around the hospital. rnrnAfter two days in the hospital Dr. Wilcox came and visited me on Sunday morning! I couldn't believe a Doctor would actually wake up early on a Sunday to visit his patients. I knew I chose a great surgeon when he did that! That made my heart glow!rnrnComing home:rnrnComing home was un-comfortable. I lived two blocks away from the hospital and you could feel every bump on the street even driving slow. I had to go and pick up my Lovenox injections. You give yourself one injection in the tummy every day for two weeks. Get someone to do this for you. They are not un-comfortable unless you hit a nerve (then you just want it to be over). After leaving the pharmacy I just wanted to roll over & die. But as soon as I got home I took my Roxicet (liquid painkiller) and slept. I would only wake up every couple of hours when it wore off to go back to sleep. I didn't really come around until the third day. I ran out of the Roxicet and I had to actually go to Dr. Wilcox's office for the prescription. I waited all morning for his partner Dr. Felix to come in... hours of no painkillers made me grumpy! So four hours later and still no prescription I wen't to the office and waited for an hour for him to write it for me. I wasn't feeling very good around this time. Hovering around like the Hunchback of Notre Dame so I made an appt to see Dr. Wilcox the next day. rnrn* Note: One thing I wanted to add was a reaction I was having with the Roxicet. I would have dreams and hallucinations of cartoon characters the entire two days I was on it. I woke up the first time from this and there was a little brown cartoon wolf with a blue hat and a yellow nose standing next to me by the bed. I know there are some people (especially in the disco days) that would have love to have that type of hallucination but I am not one of them. I knew it was time for the Doctor! rnrnI wen't there the next day and he said I should not have been in so much pain and was weirdo out by the hallucinations. He sent me straight to the hospital. Well there were no beds available so I waited eight hours in the ER. They did not give me fluids and I was getting sicker. My better half told them he was taking me home. I wen't home and threw away the Roxicet and took Tylenol. The next day I was up and running around. No need to return to the hospital. I think I was allergic to the medicine!?!?! rnrnOne month later:rnrnI have my good and my bad days. About one week after surgery I was in a bad car crash. They had to cut me out of my car and I had intense abdominal pain. I was worried something happened. Someone upstairs is watching out for me because I came out of the hospital with a few scratches. My car is totalled - but not this girl ;). rnrnI can't stand the smell of things really. I don't eat as much as I should. And I found myself dumping with my protein shake so I have been hesitant to drink milk again. I bought Lactaid so I will try tonight when I get my nerves up. I love bananas & apple juice! The downside to this is the breath! Seriously... I think it's ketosis - but my breath is worse than a dairy farm on a hot summer day. I have been sucking on sugar free mints and that helps. ***Also, sugar free lifesavers are a God send... Soo good and soooo good, lolrnrnI don't drink anything but water. I tried things with taste - but it make me nauseous. But I love cold water, mmm... I put my Vitamin B in one of my waters daily. "
