ObesityHelp

I am a 43 year old mother of 2 hoping to have WLS surgery. I have a consultation scheduled for 1/26 with Dr. Roslin in NY. I am starting off with a BMI of 49.

I went for a consultation. The first thing I noticed was the chairs were very large. First time I didn't worry about fitting in them! LOL There were a few other people in the waiting area, I didn't wait long and then had my blood pressure taken, weight taken without shoes or socks and a breathing test that measured my resting metabolic weight. I had to fill out a form with medical information and a list of all the diets I had been on and for how long, etc. It wasn't until I filled it all out that I really realized how many different things I have tried in my 43 years.

Then I went to a conference room with other people and the doctor explained the different surgeries and answered people's questions. The doctor didn't favor one type of surgery over another and also went over the risks associated. I felt very reassured after meeting him.

Then I had a private visit with the doctor to go over questions specifically for me and he looked at my stomach and chart. I felt Dr. Roslin was very thorough and he relieved any anxiety I was feeling through his own confidence. At the end he asked if I had any questions and I said when can I have the surgery? He directed me to the front where I was able to schedule an appointment!

I am officially scheduled for surgery 3/1/2005!

Before I do this however, I have to undergo a meeting with a nutritionist, psychologist, have blood work done, chest x-ray,
EKG and an upper GI. Hope to schedule these soon.

2/7/05 - Had an Upper GI Test done. I had to drink this awful white stuff while the Dr. took pictures of my stomach. They had the table upright and then pressed a button and it went down with me on it, it was like a ride. First I had a chest x-ray (in the same room, this was nothing.) I then went do a different building and had all my bloodwork done and an EKG. The whole thing took about 2 1/2 hours, but I'm glad it's done. I have a psych meeting in two days and tomorrow I meet with a nutritionist.

2/9/05 - Yesterday I met with the nutritionist and she went over all the diet requirements for after surgery. She also said I should cut out fats and carbs for two weeks prior. I left with two booklets of everything I need to know.

I also met with the psychologist. She gave me a letter of recommendation. (Although I had to go twice)

2/16/05 - Just informed by the insurance they will cover the Lap Band, I am going to have this surgery instead. I just hope I can do it on my original date. The reason I decided on this was that I have no co-morbidities. I decided also that if down the line some medical problem should arise, the band can be easily taken out and your stomach goes back to normal. Also I liked the fact that you can get a restriction whenever you need one. I figure a couple of years down the road this is what I will need. This means you can keep losing/or maintaining with restriction as long as you go for fills. Also there's no malabsorption so I don't have to take all sorts of supplements.

2/24/05 - Looks like a go ahead for my original date! I am still running around making sure copies of all results were faxed to everyone. (For some reason, they keep not showing up where they're supposed to). I am becoming slightly nervous, but my family has been very supportive.

3/1/05 - SURGERY DAY - There was a big snowstorm and I was supposed to arrive at the hospital at 6 A.m. We had to leave at 4:00 in the morning, my husband drove and we got there just in time! I was taken right away to a room with a whole bunch of beds w/curtains I was told to put on a hospital gown. They gave me the "jumbo" sized one. All my stuff was put into plastic bags and labeled to be taken to my room later. I had to sign a bunch of papers(and this was considering I pre-registered) and put hospital socks on my feet. Then I had my weight recorded 294.1 pounds. Then they took a vial of blood from me, my temperature was taken and my blood pressure was also taken. I also had to provide a urine sample.

Then I was walked down to the pre-op room. There I had to put a hat (it looked like a shower cap) on my head and get into a bed. Surprise, Surprise, I had to sign more papers! Then the doctor's assistants came over one at a time and introduced themselves. The Anesthesiologist came by and introduced himself and talked about the anesthesia and asked some questions about any previous surgeries I had. He was very re-assuring and stays in the operating room the whole time. Then My surgeon came over and talked to me about the procedure.

After this I was wheeled down the hall into the operating room. This room was freezing! I got on a table and was covered with warm blankets, I took off my gown underneath and then a needle was put in my vein and that's the last I remember till I woke up.

I was in a recovery room for about 2 hours. (This is very vague and fuzzy)

Then I was wheeled into my hospital room. I had an intrevenous in my arm, and a button I could push for pain relief whenever I wanted. In all honesty, the pain wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I had surgery the previous year for a ruptured appendix and that pain was much worse. It was, however a continuous ache and I certainly did use the pain reliever when I felt like it. I also was attached to a heart monitor and had a foley catheter and a thing on my finger that measured my pulse. I also had a tube in my nose delivering oxygen. I also had pressure cuffs on my legs, which would squeeze one leg at a time (so you don't get blood clots). Due to my pain relievers, these things didn't bother me as much as you would think they would. The one thing I will say is that is was HOT in the hospital. I was sweating the entire time.

I was incredibly dry because I couldn't eat or drink anything the night before the surgery or the entire day after either. They gave me ice chips with a swab that you could rub around your mouth and this was an incredible relief. I also had to breathe into a device 10 times every hour. They came around and took my blood, temperature, and blood pressure several times.

The next day I had an upper GI. I had to drink this nasty stuff (this was the first thing I was getting), but luckily only had to have a few sips. I felt slightly sick, but kept it down. Then I had my catheter taken out, and I was disconnected from the heart monitor. The first time I went to stand up, I felt very nauseous and dizzy. They gave me medicine for this and a while later I felt OK. I walked as much as I could. I was given broth, jello and some tea. I had some of each, kept it down and was discharged that night!

Things I packed that were completely useless were:
bathrobe - I was so hot, there was no way I was going to put on a robe
book & reading glasses - The pain medication made me woozy and there was no way I could read anything
Shampoo/lotion - I wasn't in the hospital long enough to use them.
Extra socks - No way could I bend and change the ones I had on.

The things I did use were chapstick, because my lips were dry.
Comb, toothbrush and toothpaste (although the hospital did provide these, I used my own) and deodorant.

3/5/05 - 4 days postop. I was very pleasantly surprised, when I took the bandages off and took a shower and all I had were these tiny lines. The biggest one is about 2 inches, but thin as a pencil line. Most of them are about 1/2 inch. (I have 5)
HUGE thanks to my surgeon Dr. Roslin for doing such a great job!
I am eating what my nutritionist calls thin puree for two weeks this is mainly soups w/no things to chew in them, sugar-free yogurts, cottage cheese, cream of wheat, pureed cauliflower or broccoli, and protein supplement in addition to vitamins, plus I drink alot of water. So far I am not very hungry, I have been using the sample menu I was given and measuring things out.

3/8/05 - One Week postop. Weight on my scale 288.5 This is 10 lbs down from start, but I lost 3-4 lbs before I went in for surgery. I'm still not hungry, but I do have a craving to chew something. I still have pain, but not as much and I still have to sleep on my back. I hate it! It will be a relief when I can sleep on my stomach/side again. The other thing I hate is the chewable vitamins I was given. They taste NASTY. I dread taking them, and make sure I have plenty of diet snapple on hand when I do.

3/15/05 - 2 weeks postop. Weight on my scale 283.5 Can't believe it! Today I felt almost normal when I got up. Still a little pain where my port it, but overall way better. I started eating mushy things YAY! I had tunasalad, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes and am going to have flaky whitefish, refried beans w/melted cheese also. I still drink a protein shake each day. I have a doctor's appointment this thursday.

3/22/05 - 3 weeks postop. Weight on my scale 281.5 Had my doctors appointment and everything looks fine, gave me the ok for exercise which I will start soon. I am scheduled for an appointment in 4 weeks when he will see about a fill. I think I'm going to need one as I'm hungry now, but I am trying to make good food choices. Still eating mushy foods.

3/29/05 - 4 weeks postop. I can sleep on my side! I am getting a much better nights sleep. Weight on my scale 279. Graduated to solid foods. Had chicken w/sauce and it went down OK and had about 4 oz. steak which also went down ok. I am going to really try to exercise more this week.

4/5/05 - 5 weeks postop. Weight 276. I have lost a total of 10". I had my first PB (productive burb) when I ate london broil that was either not chewed enough or very dry. It felt like a big ball in my chest and when I took a sip of water, it came right back up almost immediately. It took about 20 minutes before the ball feeling went away. No more tough meat for me! I am walking alot more and doing Richard Simmons sweating to the oldies tape. Appointment on 4/13 to see about a fill.

4/13/05 - 6 weeks postop. Weight 276. I didn't lose any weight this past week. I think this is because I was particularly hungry and was definitely eating more. I did exercise, however. I went for my first fill. It was incredibly easy! First the doctor pressed on my stomach to find the port. This was slightly uncomfortable. Then he said OK and put in the needle in one try. He put in 1cc and then it was over. All I had was a little band-aid, which I probably didn't even need, but I was wearing a white shirt. I was told to drink water and see if it went through, which it did.He said I could only have liquids the rest of the day, then mushies tomorrow then regular food the next day.

4/19/05 - 7 weeks postop. Weight 274. 2 lbs lost this week! I don't feel much restriction. I guess I will get another fill at my next appointment on 5/11. I am trying to be careful about what I eat, but I think I am not drinking enough water. I will try to drink more this week and see if that makes a
difference.

5/4/05 - 9 weeks postop. From now on, I'm just going to post monthly, or else this will be too long. My weight this week is 274. This is getting discouraging as I am drinking water/exercising and mostly following bandster rules. However, after first fill I don't feel much restriction to I am hoping when I get my next fill on 5/11 I will be eating less. I did however have my first public PB episode and it was NOT pleasant. I either ate too much, or didn't chew a piece of steak well enough and all I can say is thank g-d it was just family and not co-workers!

5/11/05 - Went to doctor for my sedond fill. I hope this works, I was 3 lbs lighter than last time I was there according to their scale. It was over in about five minutes. Found my port first try and it was like nothing. Liquids for rest of day, then mushy's tomorrow. Friday I'll see if I have any restriction. I hope so!

6/1/05 - Well I am alot more restricted since my last fill. Things that went down easily such as steak, wraps, rolls, no longer go down so well. I had 3 instances of PB's. Once when I was hot I took my water and gulped it down, which I could do before 2nd fill and It hurt my chest badly for a couple of minutes. I have found that I usually start burping right before I am overfilled. This has been a time of learning again what to eat and what not to eat. I am down to 268 lbs. That's a loss of 30 lbs. What's equally impressive is that I have lost a total of 15" pretty evenly around my body. I am not at my sweet spot yet, but I am pretty close. On memorial day we had a family picnic and I did indulge in chips, and cake, but I figure once in a while is OK. My doctor told me I could have sparkling water/seltzer or diet soda if I wanted to, but warned me it could make me gassy. I no longer crave diet soda, but I had sparkling water the other day (just a small glass) and was very happy!

Not looking forward to a hot summer, but at least I weigh less than last summer.

Stats so far: 30 lbs weight loss
1/2 inch lost around neck
4 1/2 inches lost around chest
4 inches around waist
4 1/2 inches around hips
1 1/2 inches from top of thighs

6/15/05 - Doctor's appointment. I thought I would perhaps get a fill, but he said since I lost 8 lbs since my last visit a fill wasn't necessary. Total lbs lost 32.


7/1/05 - 4 months Post-op. Weight 262.5 - Total lost 35.5 lbs. Total inches lost 17.5. I have a doctors appointment on 7/27 and I will ask for a fill if I feel I need it. I can still eat a fairly good amount, but since I'm losing will see how this month goes. Some things are hard to eat such as meat that is not very chewable (london broil, some steaks) and doughy breads like wraps and rolls. I can eat toasted bread OK, but not as a sandwich, only one slice. As time goes by I am more aware of the need to chew well to avoid PB'ing./vomiting and for the most part am conscious of this fact.

There have been a couple of weeks where I didn't lose anything and one or two weeks where I even gained 1-2 lbs, but eventually it came off. I am trying to make good food choices and drink more water.