ObesityHelp

March 17, 2004- Hi AMOS family- It has been such a long time since I've updated, I had heard about some issues which made me concerned about privacy and safety on the internet. I began my journey in Feb 2003 by sending in my paperwork to the surgeon's office. It took 6 months to get an appointment with him, which was July 2003. At this point I began the 6 month supervised diet required by most insurance companies, the psychological exam, and the check of my lungs. Most people also need a sonogram of their gall bladder to see if it needs removal but I'd already had mine removed quite a few years ago. Most people are also tested for sleep apnea but I didn't seem to have any symptoms of it so I was only screened. My insurance approval (BCBS OF MA) took approximately 3 weeks......the longest 3 weeks of my life, LOL. I have met some wonderful people from this site, one of them is my angel Stephanie C. So now, the wait begins again. I am walking on air just having a surgery date, but the reality hasn't set in yet :-) . By June, I will be a nervous wreck. I wish you all good luck in your journeys. Mea


July 21, 2004- Greetings AMOS family! I'm happy to say that I made it to the other side. My surgery was 9 days ago, July 12, 2004. The weeks leading up to the surgery were nerve-wracking, as I'm sure most of you can relate to. I had so many worries in my head about the surgery and complications. I ate everything that wasn't nailed down, LOL. My DH surprised us with a mini-trip to Cape Cod 2 days before my surgery. We went to a great seafood restaurant and I had lobster, also I took my DS to a fancy candy store that reminded us of Willy Wonka's factory :-) . So needless to say all my food fantisies were played out that weekend, LOL. Monday morning was back to reality as DH and I headed for Baystate Medical Center for 6am. I was originally scheduled for OPEN RNY but because of a mistake on my paperwork, the operating room was set up for LAP. (BTW- anyone considering using Baystate should know that mistakes like this are common there. I had watched the hospital staff correct my paperwork (open vs lap) 2 times in the past couple weeks at my pre-op appts. You have to keep on top of them.) When the surgeon, Dr Munshi arrived, he was informed of the mistake. His concern about performing LAP on me was the size of my stomach (I carry most of my weight there) and scar tissue problems, as I'd had a C section and OPEN gall bladder removal previously. Because it's a big deal to rearrange the equipment in the OR, Dr Munshi said he would try to perform LAP and switch to open if he needed to. That was FINE with me :-) !!!!! So the last thing I remember was the staff telling me they were putting the anesthesia into my IV. I vaguely remember someone telling me in the recovery room that the operation had been done and it went well. The next thing I remember was my family waking me up in a hospital room. Dr Munshi had been able to do LAP with no problems from scar tissue or my size :-) . I could not believe how GOOD I was feeling! There was barely any pain. The nurse gave me a morphine pump and showed me how to use it. I seemed to be doing fine so my family left to let me rest. I rested, watched TV and slept for the next few hours, pushing the morphine pump occasionally. Around 10pm, the trouble started. I would drift off to sleep and then jerk awake because I would stop breathing. When that jerk reflex happened, it tensed my stomach up so I would push the morphine pump for the pain. I pressed the call button to summon the nurse. It took her an hour to respond, I know this because there was a clock in the room. I told her I was having trouble breathing when I was falling asleep. She asked me if I brought my CPAP machine. I said I didn't own a CPAP because I don't have sleep apnea. She walked out of the room.....why I don't know. For the next several hours, I continued to press the call button, while the RN and LPN ignored me telling them that I couldn't breathe. I kept asking them if I was making myself clear and what part of "I can't breathe" couldn't they understand? It got so bad that the woman in the next bed had to help me yell for help because she couldn't get up either. FINALLY, the RN hooked my finger up to a monitor which showed that my oxygen kept dropping dangerously down (DUH!) and my heartbeat was racing up to 130 beats per minute! As I continued to insist on a doctor, the RN told me that the monitor was my help, as if I fell asleep the alarm in it would jerk me awake and I would be able to catch my breath. I asked her even with the alarm, how was I expected to stay awake when pumped full of morphine and kept insisting I needed help. After probably an hour on that monitor, oxygen dropping and heart racing the whole time, the RN decided it was finally time to call a doctor. She called Dr Owgudu (sp?), Dr Munshi's resident. He immediately put in oxygen "thingys" that blasted into my nostrils. He was very kind and said he would check on me again in a few minutes. After a little while, he came back to see that the nostril oxygen things weren't helping enough. He ordered a respitory team in and they hooked me up to a CPAP, which is a mask that fits over your nose and mouth and blasts oxygen in. This brought the oxygen up to an acceptable level but my heart was still racing. This all happened overnight. The next day, many tests were run to determine why I was having the problem. It was found to be a reaction from the MORPHINE. They told me that it's not rare to see problems from morphine. So of course, the morphine was stopped immediately and I was given oxycodone. Meanwhile, I asked to speak to the Nursing Director to report the RN and LPN about the whole experience, plus they had been quite rude for me "distubing" them with my repeated requests for help. I MUST SAY that EVERYONE else on staff was professional and courteous, only those 2. If anyone is thinking of using Baystate and would like to know their names, please e mail me privately so you can request NOT to be under their watch. The rest of my stay was uneventful and pleasant as could be expected. I was in the hospital a little over 48 hours. After a few days home I stopped all pain meds (oxycodone) because I didn't need them. When I went to get my staples removed 1 week after surgery, I had lost 14 pounds!!!!! I am now 9 days out and can't tell you how much better I'm feeling already. I thank God that I had such smooth sailing and would do it again in a heartbeat......minus the morphine and those 2 @$$hole nurses. Good luck in your journey. Mea


September 1, 2004- Hello AMOS friends! It has now been 7 and 1/2 weeks since my surgery. I have lost 43 pounds and haven't felt this good in years! So far I have not had any complications, knock on wood. I have gone from clothes size 5x/6x (32, sometimes 34) to size 26/28. I am losing all over but still have a HUGE lower stomach which I hate :-( . I heard that mine would be worse because I had a C section. But the long term post-ops tell me my fat belly will go away somewhat. Pre-op, my feet were swollen to a size 10, now they're back down to size 8-8 1/2. I walk 1-2 miles every day (my dog is happy about that) and do spot reducing exercises and stretches. I try to follow the pouch rules faithfully. Most days, I stick to my protein, fruits and/or veggies and gallons of water. But I do allow myself an occasional treat, hey I'm only human. My surgeon's nutritionists stress "normalcy", whatever that is. When we go out to dinner or I'm at a social gathering, I will allow myself a little taste of everything. I seem to be able to tolerate just about any food. The only foods that have bothered me were heavy fried things. I tried some fries a few weeks ago (out to dinner) and the one small bite I took just didn't feel right in my mouth or pouch. I would do this all again in a New York minute! Good luck to all of you :-) Mea

October 26, 2004- Hi everyone. I have not updated in a long time. My computer is breaking and I'm hoping to buy a new one right after Thanksgiving with the good sales. I now weigh 259.5 lbs, I'm down 71 and a half pounds :-) . I feel great, have had no complications. Only some hair loss but that's to be expected and will grow back. I am still unhappy with my mega-belly that hangs down below my belly button. I am still active and try to follow the pouch rules. I went for my post-op checkup with my surgeon a few weeks ago and everything is going great. Hope you all have a great holiday season if I'm unable to update again. Mea

12/21/04 Hi everyone- I'm back online with my new computer. I am 5 months out now, and down 91.5 lbs. I have had no complications. Life is sweet now. Hope you all have a nice holiday. Mea



7/12/04 331 lbs (Day of Surgery)

7/19/04 317 lbs -14 lbs

7/23/04 313 lbs -18 lbs

7/29/04 309 lbs -22 lbs

8/1/04 305.5 lbs -25.5 lbs

8/5/04 304.5 lbs -26.5 lbs

8/6/04 302.5 lbs -28.5 lbs

8/10/04 302 lbs -29 lbs (&%#$@& Plateau!!!! 4 weeks out)

8/16/04 299.5 lbs -31.5 lbs FINALLY broke the 300's

9/1/04 288 lbs -43 lbs

9/10/04 283.5 lbs -47.5 lbs

9/20/04 278.5 lbs -52.2 lbs (10 weeks out)

9/24/04 274.5 lbs -56.5 lbs

10/3/04 271.5 lbs -59.5 lbs (tomorrow will be 12 weeks out)

10/26/04 259.5 lbs -71.5 lbs (15 weeks + 1 day out)

12/12/04 239.5 -91.5 lns (5 months out)