May 3rd was the start of my new life.

May 16, 2010

May 3rd was the start of my new life.

  I have struggled with my weight since my second child, in 1994. My highest was my pre-surgery weight of 256, and my lowest was a two year span that I had to workout on a daily basis from 2006-2008. As soon as I had to stop working out because of a knee injury, I started gaining weight that was noticeable almost within a couple of weeks. At that point I began to get frustrated about my weight again, I bought a treadmill, tried to lower my calorie intake, but neither was working. I was also diagnosed with Hypothyroidism during this point. I started having Hypertensive blood pressure reads due to the weight gain, and my GERD was getting unbearable. I went to my doctor and asked her what we can do, she suggested several things, and then ended with Weight Loss Surgery (WLS). I did not explain much to her, just asked for the referral to a surgeon, and started the process.

My journey started in October of 2009 in Hawaii. My husband has been to every step of the process with me, he has truly been my rock throughout this whole process. Since the beginning he has helped me do everything I have had to get done. I was not able to have my surgery in Hawaii because we were in the middle of a move back to the mainland, and I would have to fly way to early, which can increase the possibility of clotting.

After getting settled into our home in Florida I started looking for a new Bariatric Surgeon, around my new area. After locating two, I picked the one I wanted, and we were on our way. I chose Dr. Sharma, in Jacksonville, FL. Dr. Sharma studied at Pittsburgh, which is one of the largest Bariatric Institutes in the world. I was quite confident in Dr. Sharma. Before I saw him I had done plenty of research on WLS. Dr. Sharma was quite intrigued with my knowledge of the subject at hand. Everything went very fast after my initial appointment because I had done almost everything before leaving Hawaii. I was approved by insurance, and had a surgery date within three weeks. My date was May 3rd, 2010.

I had a lot to get in order before my surgery date. I only had 5 days to prepare when I found out my surgery date. I had to finish 2 weeks of school work, get my house in order, prep everyone as to how to keep the house just how I like it (LOL), and make sure I had my advance directive filled out properly just in case something bad were to happen in surgery. I then tried to relax the weekend before.

The morning of my surgery came early, and the next thing I knew we were on our way to the hospital. The ride is about 35 minutes, and I swear it only took 10 minutes. We got all checked in, and were directed upstairs to pre-op. I remember going potty, getting undressed, and them trying to start an IV on me (GOOD LUCK PEOPLE). After a couple pokes they decided to bring me into the OR to get this done. I woke up with 22 attempts, and still had to get another one after one of my veins blew after surgery.

After waking up I don't remember being in a lot of pain at first. I remember them telling me that I had to breathe deeply because my O2 level's were very low. I am pretty sure I asked her to shut up, because I couldn't take a deep breath. Sorry lady. I then remember them telling me they were transporting me to my room, I don't remember opening my eyes once on my ride upstairs. At this point I remember being in a lot of pain, and I think I was shaking as well. I heard my husbands voice, but didn't open my eyes much still. I finally started becoming more aware after a couple hours. My eyes started opening, and I started to form words that actually made some sense. The first night was a little uncomfortable, but tolerable until I started vomiting. I asked for them to change my pain medicine right away that morning, and they did, a few hours after that I stopped vomiting, and life was much better. I felt like I was finally on my way to recovery.

As the day progressed I was up and walking, and talking with my husband throughout the day between rests. I stayed that night, and was released in the afternoon on the third day. Going home was hard, the car ride hurt just a little. After getting home I immediately felt more comfortable, and was sleeping soon after, with about 8 pillows haha. Everyday since my surgery I have felt better. I feel almost back to normal until I eat.

Eating has become a struggle, one which I will deal with for the rest of my life. Choosing WLS means vitamins, water, small amounts of food, and protein shakes. I am now 13 days post-op today, and I am still learning how to get this all in. I am eating real food, everything that I make my family for dinner, and tolerating it just fine. I have not vomited since the second day after surgery.

When I eat, I choose my protein first, I chew every bite at least 20 times, I eat with baby spoons-to ensure I will not take too large of a bite and forget to chew, I eat only 2 oz. at a time, and no drinking for 30 minutes after a meal. These are all things that before surgery, I thought looked easy as heck, and the reality of it, is that they are not that easy. Some of the hardest parts of the surgery so far for me have been:

No Milk
No drink with my meal
Remembering to chew every bite 20 times
Getting my vitamins in daily

Some doctors don't want their patients to be eating food yet, they would still be on a liquid only diet. Dr. Sharma wants his patients to let their stomach's lead them. If your stomach doesn't approve, it will show you. I have personal goals, but none of them are with my old eating habits. I didn't eat sweets, I didn't overeat, but for dinner, I didn't binge, and I didn't constantly eat. My issue's were different so making sure I don't overeat isn't going to be a problem.

Some people have asked me what are some of the things I like about having the surgery so far. My far the number one thing is having no hunger feeling, this doesn't come back for about 12-18 months typically. It was done though a single incision, through my belly button. Dr. Sharma is featuring me in a medical journal, I will be sure to share that when I get it.

So, 13 days out, and I have already lost 24 pounds (by form of malnutrition), and I feel lighter. I am still tired and need my rest throughout the day, and when I move to fast, or cough I can feel that I had surgery, but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I am so ready to take some more weight off and start walking, and working out again.

I couldn't have done this without the solid support of my husband, my family, and my friends. They have all been very supportive of my choice. My husband leaves soon for his new job so this journey might get a little jolted, but we are so happy he got the job he wanted, and he gets to go back to the sandbox to play around with guns once again!

I put a lot of information into this first blog to get caught up on where I am at so far. Hopefully, the rest will just be updates, and informative. I plan on writing about my journey, and life.

Thank you for reading.

Angela

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