Elizabeth C.
03/29/2006
I guess I will start by letting everyone know that I am 32 years old, and a mother of three wonderful children. In November, I was diagnosed with a serious heart disease called hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. Currently I am 262 pounds, and really need to get this weight off of me to reduce the strain on my heart.
I am going for my first appt. tomorrow. I will be meeting with the dietician, nurse, and the surgeon all in one shot. I was told to expect the total appt time to take around 4 hours. I am a nervous wreck, because I dont know what all to expect. I will update more after tom.
03/30/2006
went for my first consult today. First I met with the dietician. I dreaded getting weighed, but had no choice!! I am at 262.6 lbs currently, and I have been put on a diet to lose 10%(26lbs). My dietician was awesome!! She has me on a 1500 cal a day diet, I told her that she was being generous! That seems like an awful lot of cals a day. I am just thinking that at that high amount, it will take me forever to get the weight off.
After that I met with the first of two nurses. This one went over why I want the surgery, my health history, family health history, etc.. And the she took all of my measurments, I cant believe that I am bigger now than when I was 9 months preg.
Then I met with my surgeon, Dr. Motto. Wow, he is super! He made me feel so comfortable, he was just the most sweetest, most laid back Dr I have ever met. He explained the whole procedure to me(he only does open rny)went over my list of questions, and then told me I have to have a sleep study done, a psychosocial workup, and I have to meet with a fitness trainer. So much to do!!!! Anyway, I was most impressed with him.
And lastly, I met with the second nurse. She basically went over the financial end of things, and my upcoming appts. All went well until the very end of my appt, when we went over my insurance, I am on medical assistance, and she told me that they are only allowed to do 4 med ast. patients a year. My heart hit the floor. All I could think of is OMG, I may be doing all of this and not be able to get a date for over a year. I was super discouraged. However, they have only performed 1 of the 4 this year so far and she said that they do not have any MA patients with dates yet, because they are not loosing the 10% of their weight. So believe me, I am going to bust my butt to get this weight off.
I have another appt w/ the dietician in April, so I will update more then.
04/13/06
Okay, so I have been doing really well on my pre-op weight loss. I have been following my diet, and have managed to lose 7 pounds in the last week and a half. Only 19 more to go. I am scheduled to see my dietician on May 2. I am hoping to have lost at least 5 more pounds by then. I will update after that appointment.
04/20/06
I went for my psycho-social evaluation today. I have to admit that I was a nervous wreck before I got there. But I had myself all worked up for nothing. Everything went smoothly, and the psychologist gave me the "GREEN LIGHT". That puts me one step closer to getting a date. I still have to complete the overnight sleep study, lose 16 more lbs, and meet with a personal trainer. Things are moving a little more slowly than I would like, but I will get there. 5/02/06
Today was a great day. I had an appointment with my dietician, and all went great. In the last month, I have managed to lose 13 of my 26 lbs for my pre-op weight loss. The dietician said that by next month I should be getting a date for surgery. I am getting so excited. After my appointment with her, I met with a personal trainer who gave me a fitness plan. I was pretty nervous about going, but it was easy. He was so nice and helpful. He gave me a fitness plan to work with and some elastic bands to use. Nothing seems to difficult to do. Even if it were , I would still have to do it. Well, I am off to exercise!!
7/21/06
Wow, it has been awhile since my last update. I have run in to some problems with getting my surgery. Last month at my appt. with the surgeon. I was informed that I would not be eligible for my surgery until next year. The hospital that I chose for my surgery is not a Center of Excellence, and had already performed all of their medicare surgeries for the year. Talk about being really bummed out and pissed off. When I started their program, they told me I would have no problem getting in this summer for my surgery. And then to find out it would not be possible. My first reaction was screw it, I will never have this surgery. But then after I calmed down, I have decided to go to Geisinger for the procedure. Yesterday I went for my first appointment, and they told me that I should probably plan on September for my date. Wow, that's only 2 months away!! I am getting excited now.
In the time that has passed since my last entry, I have managed to complete all of my requirements--I have lost my 10% weight loss, had my psych eval, had an overnight sleep study, and met with the fitness trainer. I think all that is left for me to complete is pre-op testing and an ultrasound. I will know more next month.
November 28, 2006
Okay, So I have been neglecting my page lately. All has been well, with the exception of all the weight I have gained back. I seemed to go through a phase for the last month,and have gained all of my weight back that I lost in preperation for my surgery. I am back up to my starting weight of 262 lbs. I am really ashamed of myself, but there is not much that I can do about it now, other than behave myself and stay on my liquid diet until my surgery. I will be going in for my surgery December 7, 2006. I had all of my pre-op work done today, and all went well. Okay more truth, I am nervous as hell!!! I will update more after I return home from the hospital.
December 17, 2006
I had my surgery on December 7th, 2006. Upon awakening in the recovery room, I was in soooooo much pain. It took the nursing staff awhile to get my pain under control. Once hooked up to the morphine pump, I was able to control my pain level, which was heavenly!! The only complication I endured throughout my surgery was that I developed pneumonia. I stayed in the hospital for three nights and was released on my fourth day. Things at home were somewhat of a challenge the first few days. Having three kids to keep up with left me feeling quite exhausted. I am not 10 days post-op and feel great. I have very little pain and am almost back to my normal routine. I am however, having a problem getting in my protein. Mostly all of the protein drinks I have tried make me gag. The only one that I seem to be able to tolerate is Isopure Fruity drinks. I return to my surgeon on the 19th and I am hoping that he advances my diet to a soft or pureed stage by then. On the bright side of things, I have managed to lose 20 lbs. since the day of my surgery. WooHoo!!!
