Four Months Post-Op

Jul 09, 2010

It has been awhile since I posted, but I am excited to say that I am feeling great after all my post-op sickness. It took while to recover from the gall bladder surgery, but now that I am not sore, I love working out and being active. As of right now I am down 100 pounds since this time last summer (70 since 2/25 when I had my surgery).

The only thing that seems to still be an issue is my menstrual cycle. Even though I am on the pill my cycles are crazy. I have always been really regular, but now I wil start my period in the middle of a pack (as early as day 10!). I have my annual exam with my regular PCP at the end of the month so hopefully we can get that worked out.

Another thing I find interesting is my sex drive. I am interested ALL the time. This is not particularly new, but now I have the energy to follow through more. This would be a great problem except that my husband's libido can't keep up. I think it makes him feel bad (and I'm not too happy about it either to tell the truth).

Speaking of my husband, since the surgery, I am WAY healthier than he is and I find I have little tolerance for him not taking care of himself. He is starting to have high blood pressure and I wouldn't be surprised if his cholesterol was through the roof. He loves saturated fats and unhealthy snacks and never exercises. It makes me angry sometimes that I am putting in so much effort and he is still in complete denial that he isn't 15 anymore.

So that is what is going on with me. 

Until next time.
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6 weeks down and the diagnosis is....

Apr 12, 2010

I got a call last week stating that my liver enzymes were very elevated and given I have had so muh nausea, they ordered an ultrasound of my right side. I went in at 7:39am. At 1:15pm my surgeon's office called and said that they already had the results and we needed to schedule surgery to remove my gall bladder. WOW! I thought I couldn't have surgery for 6 months after WLS, but they want to get me in there so I can start feeling better. So I will be going in for gall bladder surgery in 2 weeks! I have been told that it will be laproscopic and an outpatient surgery. I sure hope so. I'm ready to start feeling better.
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Over a month down...

Apr 06, 2010

So, I went to my one month follow up appointment and got three different opinions why I was having so much illness after surgery. My dietician gave me license to try to eat whatever I felt I could keep down (within reason) and try to add protein as I could. Unfortunately, that means that my diet consists mostly of fruits and yogurt and whole grain carbs. Every time I try to get a protein down it comes right back up. After having some labs done my levels are pretty much OK (THANK THE LORD!) except really elevated liver enzymes. They think that I could possibly have a problematic gall bladder. So, I have an ultrasound scheduled for Monday morning. BUT....even if my gall bladder is diseased, the surgeon said that they can't remove it until 6 months after surgery. I may have to just deal with this chronic nausea and vomitting until August or September. YUCK! Another unfortunately side effect of not getting enough protein is that A) weight loss has pretty much stalled and B) I am now experiencing hypoglycemia and have to eat every couple of hours to keep from getting REALLY sick.

I was so gung ho before surgery and even the week afterwards when I felt great. I did great on low carb/high protein diet for months before surgery. Now I can't tolerate any of the things I am supposed to eat. It definitely makes me feel regret from time to time. I love the 30 pounds I lost in a month, but at what cost? Just feeling a little sorry for myself I guess.
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Two weeks down....

Mar 11, 2010

So today I am 2 weeks post-op and I am now beginning to have some issues. Two days ago I started getting really nauseated in the afternoon. I had worked out that morning and had felt great until about 3 hours later. Then I felt really queasy. I couldn't get anything down. Yesterday morning I woke up a little queasy, but couldn't even think about having a protein shake because that would make my stomach upset and go into gagging and dry heaves. I took some phenergan, slept, and felt better. I went to the gym, but took it easy. A couple hours later I was really sick to my stomach. I called the doctor's office and they recommended having some milk of magnesia or Dulcolax since I haven't been having very good bowel movements. I could only get half a dose in and boy am I glad. I have been having watery bm's about every 2 hours since. But I continued to experience dry heaves. This morning I didn't feel sick, but unusually sore at one of my incisions. I have been off pain pills for several days now, but I actually had to give in and take one around noon. So today I have been taking it easy on myself with the protein and just focusing on getting my fluids in. It isn't up to where I was, but better. Now, at 2pm I started getting sick to my stomach again. So much so that I am dry heaving. I am really disappointed, but I don't know why. I was doing great with no problems, now all of a sudden I am sick as a dog. This is stressing me out because I have to go back to work on Monday. I was totally ready this past Monday and would have gone in if I had a statement from my doctor. Now I am scared to go and then be heaving all the time. I go to the doctor tomorrow for 2 week follow up and support group meeting. Hopefully they will have some suggestions. I am stressing out about not getting my protein in, but I can't even stomach the thought of protein shakes or powders. I am gagging at the smell of brownies cooking in the kitchen for my son's school's auction. 

I'm not posting my weight until I come back from the doctor tomorrow because I think my scale has gone psycho. It is telling me that I have lost like 20 pounds in a week, which is just insane and I refuse to believe it. It told my husband he lost 5. I weighed at the gym and it says I only lost 1 pound. I don't want to believe that either. So I will post the doctor's office weigh-in tomorrow.
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Recovering inside and out

Mar 03, 2010

So I am one week post-op today and the emotional tidal wave has hit. While I am totally thrilled about the 11 pound weight loss since surgery (5 pounds lost 2 days prior on the liquid diet for a total of 18 pounds off in little more than a week). However, I am now experiencing all the emotions that I have pushed away for the last week "being strong" for everyone else. I am physically recovering well, I am up and about a doing chores around the house. I am pleased with that. I am glad to be strong in that way. But emotionally I am faltering. In the hospital I worked hard to overcome the pain of surgery to get up and going so that I could be in a good place to have visitors.....except.....no visitors. Not one. Of course, my Mom and Dad and husband stayed with me in shifts and I am grateful for that. But not friend. Not one person from the church staff. No one. I made sure everyone had my contact information and I even texted everyone right out of surgery to let them know I was out and doing really well (so good for receiving visitors). But, no one.

I got one card (before the surgery). All the people who said that they would bring my family dinner (since I wouldn't be able to stand the smell of food cooking and didn't want them eating out every day) have failed to follow through. My aunt brought over a bag of chicken nuggets and french fries from Kroger that I had to cook. Someone handed me cash last night at church so they wouldn't have to bother bringing us anything (as if we couldn't afford for the family to go out to dinner). It makes me feel invisible and worthless and not worth anyone's time. If I had died in surgery it would not have had any effect on anyone at all except my family.

I went to choir last night and everyone was surprised and pleased that I was there. Then a sheet started going around about throwing a baby shower for a choir member who is barely there (a couple of months out of the year at most) for her 4th son (and her Sunday School class threw her a party last week). Now, I am not begrudging that they are going to throw yet another party for her. But it just smacked me in the face. I ended up having to leave in the middle of choir completely sobbing. No one noticed. Not that I was doing it for attention. I would typically handle these feelings by pushing them back, keep thinking positive, then go home and eat. But, I don't have the strength right now not to feel what I am feeling. It obviously is triggering really old feelings from my childhood of loneliness and worthlessness. I just don't know  what to do about it right now. I guess I am in recovery in lots of ways.


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I'm home

Feb 27, 2010

I am 3 days post-op and got home yesterday. Let me fill you in about everything that happened. I got to the hospital on Thursday morning at 8am (I am glad we left 2 hours beforehand because it snowed during the night and the roads were slick). I had to wait in the surgical waiting area for a little bit before going back to pre-op. All of my strength started to leave me. I was back there by myself and my pre-op nurse wasn't exactly warm and fuzzy. Anyway, I went to the bathroom before putting on my gown and was able to pray for God's strength and reassurance that I was not going to die today. The Scripture from Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." That gave me the strength to leave the bathroom and put on the very short, but very large surgical gown (with no underwear - that was freaking me out, don't ask me why). Soon after my nurse game over and she was very nice and reassuring. She did, however, stink at starting an IV. She stuck me twice and then called someone else over who had to stick me twice before getting the IV going. Then they called my family in and we sat there kind of nervous and uncomfortable for awhile until the anesthesiologist came to talk to me and asked if I would like something to relax me. Trust me, the answer to this question is always, YES! So glad I did because whatever mellowness I was feeling went right out the window as soon as they started wheeling me down the hall and into the OR. It was like being in an alien film. I got myself on the operating table and the nurses introduced themselves right before they became strapping my arms down to boards with big old belts. Before I could begin to freak the anesthesiologist was back and having me breathe in a lot of oxygen. When we gave me the general anesthetic I suddenly tasted something metallic and funny.......
.....When I woke up I was in recovery and crying with the pain. It was so intense that I was sure that they ended up having to do open instead of laproscopically. The nurse then gave me several shots of dilaudid. I wanted to pass back out, but every time I started to the alarm on the pulsox started going off and they would make me start taking deep breaths. I didn't want to until she said that she couldn't give me more medicine unless I breathed deep enough. I found the will after that. HA! Once I was a little more coherent. I asked her if they did the surgery open or lap and she reassured me that it was lap. She gave me several bites of ice chips and boy did they taste amazing! Soon after I was being taken to my room.....
      The rest of the day I chilled out and watched TV between the multitude of room visits from nurse and nurse's aid. I got up to walk the fist day and made it to the corner of the hallway (about 10-15 feet from the bed). I ended up walking 3 times the first day and made it one whole lap around the floor by the end of the day. Day two my cathetur came out and I instantly wanted to go to the bathroom. That hurt quit a bit to get up and down (mostly the up) and it often pulled the tape away from my skin on my J tube dressing so blood would end up everywhere. The pulseox came off soon came off since I was dong so well with the spirometer and had coughed up plegm several times (OUCH!). Then Friday afternoon my Mom noticed a bunch of swelling around the IV site (thank goodness she's a nurse!). Evidently the IV became included and the IV liquids were going right into the tissue instead of the vein. The nurse came in, looked at it, and said that she was going to take it out and call the surgeon, but she thought that if I worked really hard on getting my liquids in, then the doctor would let me keep it out. So my the end of the second day I was free as a bird (except the scuds which they said I could take off once in awhile since I was doing so great on walking). I was feeling very proud of myself and pleased that I didn't have much swelling and no nausea at all. Until.....the gas hit....
       When they say that gas pain is the worst, it truly is. I won't even pretend that mine was bad compared to some people's. There are at least two different types of feelings. There is the high abdominal gas which you can work up into a burb and that helps. Then there is mid-abdomen gas which bubbles and disappates into nowhere, like random bubbles. Then there is lower bowel gas. That was problematic for me because I could not pass it. I walked and walked and walked (I did 5 laps around the floor at one time trying to get it to pass). What I wouldn't give for one great big fart (gross, I know, but that's how I felt). It got so bad that it was making me nauseous. Finally, I just went to sleep.
      Sleep in the hospital was odd. You would think on the heavy dialudid you would pass right out. Not me, I would pass out for about 5 minutes into a deep sleep and then would pop right back up. The longest I slept at one time was 3 hours between midnight and 3am. On the second day when I was moved to loratab I definitely felt sleepier. I finally gave in around 6 and slept for several hours while my hubby went to his sister's for supper. I chatted with her when she got back and talked to my friend on the phone when she called, but I could feel my eyes rolling back in my head. I then instantly went to sleep around 10pm and slept (waking up every couple of hours when the nurses's aid came in) until 7am. Then I got up to go to the bathroom and walk the hall because the gas was back. When I finished my first lap, the surgeon was going into my room. He discharged me and gave final instructions. The nurse came in around 10 and took out the tube (YEA!) and gave discharge instructions. And then we were ready to go!
         Then I got to come home. The first thing I wanted to do was shower, but after a 90 minute drive I was exhausted. I laid down for a little bit before hitting the shower. My husband took one with me because he wanted to make sure I didn't fall over and because, honestly, he needed one too! I was able to take the bandages off my small incisions. I don't know if it the sight of the incisions and staples or the heat of the shower, but I got really nauseated. I had to get out and vomit. However, "vomit" didn't produce anything. I was gagging and burping which actually made me feel better once it was over, but boy was it painful at the tube site during it. It totally freaked my husband out. My mom came over and took off the bandage over where the tube had been (it wasn't painful at all like I was prepared for) and changed the dressing. I tried to get some protein in and I did manage to finish most of the cup, but my sense of smell and taste buds are very sensitive. I put it in a cup with a lid so I couldn't smell it, but it tasted awfully sweet (I had put in a tiny bit of Splenda). I also think it must have been a little foamy because that made me feel very nauseous as well. I had to do the "vomit" thing again, though not producing anything. I have found that peppermint tea is my favorite thing right now and makes everything feel lovely. It takes care of gas and nausea. Unfortunately, I am going to have to go try to get some protein in now....Wish me luck!

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Here we go!

Feb 24, 2010

So tomorrow is the big day. I have been on my pre-op diet of < 30g carbohydrates a day. Yesterday I started my liquid diet and Milk of Magnesia. Continued that again today. And....everything started going crazy. I arranged for my Mom to take me to the hospital since my husband works 3rd shift and doesn't have any vacation time left. Plus, my Mom is a nurse a will advocate for me a little bit better than my poor honey. And she really wanted to be there. My husband was going to keep the kids on as normal a schedule as possible and do the school drop off thing while my Dad and Mother-in-law took care of the kids overnight. My husband is going to be staying at my sister-in-law's house while I am in the hospital since she lives in Lexington and he won't have to drive back and forth (about 90 minute drive). And then....

My baby girl got sick this morning with what turned out to be an ear infection. So I had to leave my last day of work to take care of her. Then I called Day Surgery to confirm my surgery time and they said to come in at 8am. That means I now have to leave for the hospital before my husband gets home for work. So I am scrambling to arrange things for the kids at the last minute. Anyway, it's very complex, but it will get worked out.

Now let me tell you about the liquid diet. I now have an intimate knowledge of head hunger. Don't get me wrong. My stomach is growling like crazy (though I did lose 2 pounds in one day!). But food has never looked and smelled SO good. I have to admit that I did have ONE macaroni shells and cheese (not one BITE, but one shell) last night. It was wonderful. I could have eaten the whole pan. Then I had to go to Wal-Mart today to get baby girl's prescription. OMG. I could have eaten everything. I made it out of there with my sanity intact (barely) and got home to have some soup. The whole can. Then a protein shake.

What I wasn't prepared for is how emotional I am today. You are catching me at a pretty reasonable moment, but the slightest thing makes me start crying. I don't know why. I'm really excited about my new life. But it is also a little scary for me. Not the surgery (though I have plenty of crazy fears about that), but about the person into whom I will be transformed. You see, I have ALWAYS been fat. My Mom will tell you that I got fat on breast milk at 2 weeks old. Seriously. That is how long this has been an issue. So, I have survived the torture of childhood as a fat kid. Not only a fat kid, but a fat military brat. So add being overweight to moving all the time, it is a pretty lonely world for a kid. So, I got through (barely) with my share of baggage and pain added to an already bad problem. I have figured out how to cope. How to win friends and influence people by hard work, wit, and a sense of humor. So now my question is....who is this woman I am going to become? Only time will tell.

I will post as soon as I can about my hospital experience and recovery. Here we go...........!
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Now for the next stage in this adventure

Feb 20, 2010

It has been awhile since I wrote, so thought I should update everyone on what has been going on. So, I finished my 6 months of "medically supervised diet" in January. I just love my PCP and she has given me even more confidence that at this I will not fail because I have proven to myself that I can be consistent and do the work over time. She is so proud of me. She is also great to point out the perfectionism that has sabotaged me so many times before. As in, "I really was expected to lose 10 pounds this month and I only lost 8 so I totally suck" and then end up comforting myself with food and scrap the whole thing. She would genuinely celebrate any loss no matter how small. That really shook me up in a great way. Anyway, when I finished up my last appointment with her, she insisted on writing a letter for my insurance company though it wasn't required. She gave me a huge hug and told me how proud she was of me. WOW! After being belittled all my life by doctors who would not believe how hard I was working just to lose one pound, that was a major change. I am her patient for life, for sure! Anyway....then the waiting....
Despite the insurance company assuring me that I would get approved within 24 hours, I had no idea that it would take roughly a month to get all the paperwork from my PCP to the surgeon's office and from the surgeon's office to the insurance company. Also, the nurse case manager I had been assigned to had quit and my case had been closed in December. They had to reopen it and assign another nurse to the case. That took a week. The PCP's office staff kept sending 2 months of information instead of 6. No one was communication with me. Thankfully, I have had experience in both a doctor's office and with an insurance company (thanks, God, for the weird detours in life that prepared me for this point in my life with the knowledge that I needed to advocate for myself. If I haven't told you today, I think YOU are totally amazing!). That experience taught me that patient's have to advocate and push for things to happen, otherwise they sit and nothing happens. So, after roughly a month (and that's with me calling all the office's all the time!) the paperwork got to the insurance company and I was approved very quickly. I found out from my surgeon's office on 2/12 that I would be having surgery on 2/25. I met my surgeon and completed the last class on 2/17. Now I am preparing my house and family for the next phase.
I have a 6 year old son and 2 year old foster daughter in a addition to a supportive husband. Hubby has been great about supporting this whole process, however, I feel like he doesn't get how much his life is going to change as much as mine will. For awhile dinner is solely going to be his domain, I will have to rely on him for a great many chores until I have healed enough for carrying loads of laundry and such. I just don't know if he has considered how he might feel to see me a great deal more helpless than he has even known me. I am afraid he is going to freak. But, despite these questions, I have faith that I am on the path that God would have me on. I have faith that I will survive the surgery, will recover, and will begin the metamorphisis into the woman He designed (even if the inside plumbing has been seriously messed with).
So, I will sign off for now and will endeavor to write more often. I would like some documentation of my journey over the next year. I invite you to witness this change.
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Beginning Again

Jul 24, 2009

Hello all and welcome to my journey....or at least....a continuation of a journey that I started about 8 years ago. I began looking into bariatric surgery in 2001and chickened out because the timing. I was single and the company I worked for seemed perpetually in lay-off mode. I was afraid of taking time of work for an RNY and come back to no job. Though I also had emotional support at the time, I was afraid of having to take care of myself. Now I am married and have children, and at a more stable place in my career. Also, I am up about 45 pounds since looking into surgery last time.

Timing is everything and I truly feel that this is the time and the season. I am excited about a whole new healthy me.

I just got off the phone with the insurance company and I have a case manager, who said that once I do the 6 months of supervised medical weight loss (which she said was just meet with PCP once a month for 6 months to discuss changes I needed to make in diet and exercise) and did the psychological assessment, I would be approved within 24 hours. SWEET! So I am actively planning on having surgery for Valentine's Day!
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About Me
Bardstown, KY
Location
36.9
BMI
RNY
Surgery
02/25/2010
Surgery Date
Dec 27, 2008
Member Since

Friends 13

Latest Blog 9

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