sunny_in_texas

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I'm home! The past few days have seemed to just drag on since surgery. Since I have never had any type of inpatient surgery before, I had no idea how much it would hurt. I was scheduled for surgery at 3:00pm, but my doctor's earlier appointments were running late and my surgery was pushed back to about 6:00pm. When I woke up, WOW I was is soooo much pain. Oh, I felt so bad. That evening was rough for several hours, but once I started walking everything got much better very quickly. I walked and walked and walked. Everyone was so surprised at how well I was walking. There were several other patients who had also had the procedure done, but they were really struggling.

Wednesday was a pretty good day. I had 4 breathing treatments, walked up and down the hall at least 20 times and started having broth, jello, Popsicles and water. They also gave me a blood thinner that was injected into my stomach daily and since my blood sugar was spiking, they also gave me a few doses of insulin. My blood sugar was back to normal by the end of the day Wednesday.  It's been hard to get the fluids in because I really don't want any of it. The pain has been tolerable, and as soon as it started getting worse the nurses quickly got me some more medication. Luckily as of this point there have been no complications. I had a little bit of nausea twice, but it was not very severe and quickly went away.

This morning my doctor came in about 7:30am and said as soon as the nurses can complete my discharge work, I'm good to go home. Unfortunately it took about 4 more hours before I went home. Before I could leave they had to take X-rays of my Stomach and intestines and make sure everything was flowing properly. I think the liquid they gave me was called Barium, but what ever it was it was AWFUL. It tasted like dish soap and the thought of it now makes me want to vomit! There was a person in front of me and she came out with a barf bag. Once those results came back, they came in and removed my drainage tube and anesthetic ball. The Anesthetic ball was completely painless, I didn't feel a think. It was not fun when they removed the drainage tube, but luckily it was taken out very quickly. Once they pulled these out, I was walking out the door. :-)

I live only 5 minutes from the hospital, so the ride was super easy. I've been really tired and have slept quit a bit. When the sun goes down a bit, I plan on taking a walk through the neighborhood.  I'm hoping each day gets better and am praying that no complications arise. I'll keep anyone posted that cares to listen.

Well, the day is finally her. I am absolutely nervous and hope that everything goes well. I wish I could just fast forward at least 1 week and get past the surgery, the hospital and a majority of the pain. YIKES! Anyway, wish me luck. My surgery is at 3:00pm.

Finally, my surgery is scheduled! I got confirmation today and I'm scheduled on Tuesday, June 28th. I can't actually believe it's scheduled. I don't think it's set in yet.

I have completed all the items on my "check list" except losing 10 lbs. I thought I could lose it more quickly, but I still need to lose 4 more pounds. I have 11 days until my next weigh in. I'm crossing my fingers that I can hit my goal. Wish me luck!

Well, I had my first sleep study last night. It was better than I thought it would be in some ways and worse in others. The room I stayed in was way nicer than I expected. It looked like a nice hotel room. The bed was AMAZING!!!! I think it was a Temperpedic or something like that and it was unbelievably comfortable. Unfortunately the comfort of the bed did little change the discomfort of all the wires connected to all parts of my body.

Before my study I went home and took a shower. I washed and dried my hair so it was be nice and clean. Little did I know that they were going to put tons of wires in my hair that are each attached to my scalp with bunches of goop! There goes my nice, clean hair! The tech told me it would easily come out with with water, but this definition of easy and mine must be totally different. Oh well, now I know for next time.

Although the Tech was not supposed to, he shared some feedback about my sleep study results. I didn't stop breathing and I did hit the "good" sleep he was looking for I did not get enough "good" sleep. So he is pretty sure they will put me on a CPAP when I go see the doctor in a week for my results. He said that when I slept on my back and on my side my breaths were very short and therefor limiting the oxygen intake. He also told me something that I thought was interseting. Many people who have sleep apnea complain of sweating at night while they sleep. He said this is caused by your heart beat speeding up to compensate for the lack of oxygen. There is no reason that anyone should sweat while they sleep since this should be when your heart is beating the slowest. I sweat all the time!!! In fact, I recently purchased a window unit air conditioner because I was so hot. Guess what!?!?! I still sweat.

At first I was disappointed that I had to take the Sleep Study and I did not want to fail, but now I'm a little excited to get a CPAP since it will supposedly make a huge difference in the quality of my sleep.

Yesterday I completed my marathon of medical appointments. I met with my surgeon, my surgeon's assistant, the nutritionist, the psychologist and my patient advocate. Wow, that was one long day!!!! I'm glad I was able to get a lot of requirements out of the way at one time though. Everything went well and the doctor told me I need to lose 10lbs, complete a sleep study and have labs run. Since I am having to pay out of pocket due to an exclusion clause, I'm trying everything I can to get at least some of my requirements paid for. I went to my gynecologist and she is going to request the labs, so hopefully that will be covered.

Anyway, I was able to get in for my sleep study tomorrow and I can't wait to get that out of the way. The bad news is that if I need a CPAP then I will have to go for a second study and the earliest opening they have for my second appointment is May 19th! I am hoping and praying that I pass. If I do then I could have surgery in Mid May. I'm sooooo nervous. Now that I'm this close, I just don't want to wait any longer.

I've made up my mind and I have officially made the decision to have WLS surgery. I've started the process several times, but after being declined by insurance every time, I thought maybe it's just not meant to be. I thought maybe I'm doing something wrong.....I should be able to lose this weight on my own, right!?! How hard can it be? Reality check!!!! I have tried time and time again to lose the weight and time and time again I was successful for about 20 - 30 pounds only to gain 40 pounds back. The endless diet yo-yo.

Now I am committed to having it done. Although my insurance has an exclusion clause for WLS, I am going to invest in myself and pay out of pocket. I have already talked with my patient advocate and have an appointment to meet with my surgeon this week. My advocate said that most likely I could schedule my surgery within a month! WLS is almost a reality and I am so excited! I know there will be challenges, but I feel the overall experience will be AMAZING. I can't wait to get my life back. People that have not been extremely overweight don't understand what's it like. It affects your entire life. Most people just think it affects your physical appearance, but as anyone is extremely overweight knows, there are so many daily issues you deal with besides appearance. I find myself day dreaming about being "thin" again and it is wonderful. I don't think I have ever been so excited about something in my life! I hope everything goes as planned. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Well, I have considered weight loss surgery several times over the past 6 years. I have gone to several seminars, met with surgeons, nutritionists and "skrinks", but it's always the same outcome.......my insurance has an exclusion for weight loss procedures. As anyone who has had issues with this may know, it is very frustrating and an emotional roller coaster! Now I am seriously considering paying for the procedure out of pocket, but it can be a little scary.

I just purchased a home last year, so I don't have much in savings and will have to either get a loan or get assistance from my family. On one hand I think maybe I should just walk away again and go back to the diet routine, but on the other hand I know I will end up right back here again in a year or two and most likely have the same dilemma. I'm almost 34 and so far have only had minor medical complications due to my weight, but who knows when that can change.

Decisions, decisions.........