Cyndi7856
My journey began several years ago when many of my co workers began having gastric bypass (back then it was the open procedure) I saw some of their sucesses and actually went to see the doctor they had used, but was uncomfortable with how quickly he was willing to do surgery on me without fully reviewing my medical history....so I waited. I saw some complications and how unhealthy some of them actually looked.
A year or so later, there was a new doctor in town and he was doing these procedures laparoscopically. He had nutritionists on staff and seemed (at least to me) to have a better follow up program.....so I went to his seminar. I liked what heard and so did my husband. So I filled out the necessary paperwork, and a quick month later I was seeing Dr. Lord for my initial appointment.
My insurance required a six month weight loss trial and I saw an associate of Dr. Lord's and now I am very happy that I did. Not only did Dr. Hnugyh give me valuable information regarding weight loss in general...he helped to educate me as to what what my eating habits would need to be like post surgery as well. I was able to get food plans and recipes I felt very prepared going into surgery.
My weight loss trial ended the middle part of December and with no prompting from me, I got my insurance approval shortly after Jan 1st. By the end of January, I had a call from Dr. Lords office verifying that they had all of my information, test results and insurance approval...and most importantly....a surgery date. March 31! It seemed so far off, but before I knew it -- the week before I was at the doctors office for my orientation, preop appointment and hospital tour.
The Bariatric Suite at Sacred Heart is beautiful....the beds are big with special mattresses. All the rooms were private. I was impressed. Jan -- the program manager gave a very complete orientation...there were no surprises, all of us that were having surgery that week knew exactly where to go, what to expect. -- it was calming and reassuring.
Surgery day came and I was Dr. Lords second case that day. I breezed through pre op -- the nurses were friendly and the anesthiologist kept me laughing. I remember him saying he was going to give me something to relax me....they put a cap on my hair, my husband, son and sister, were there and each gave me a kiss as they came to take me to the surgery suite. I remember being relaxed and almost giddy.....and the next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery.
Their was some pain, but it was not as extreme as I thought it was going to be. Truthfully the worst part was not being able to have anything to drink or being able to brush my teeth until the next day. They have to do an x ray to make sure everything is flowing correctly first. So it wasn't so much being in pain as it was being uncomfortable. My lips were parched, I was chewing on wet wash rags to keep my lips moist as well as using the lip balm. The day after surgery was my most uncomfortable, again it wasn't so much the pain, I had a pain pump with medication...it was more the not being able to shower, having a drain in my side...I was just irritable. I will admit I didn't think there was any way I was going home the next day.
That night, the nurse let me shower.....and I was finally able to drink some crystal light!!!. The next morning they took out the drain and I was able to eat some scrambled eggs and yogurt. I w as moving around easier and found that felt much better. I was able to go home that day......so when you have your surgery....know..that day after will be your worst day....but it only lasts that one day before you start swinging around.
Once I got home I kept up with the walking that I had started out with in the hospital. I went for short walks at first....focused on my new eating plan....and took daily afternoon naps. After two weeks I was going stir crazy and was ready to go back to work. My energy level was up and I was down about 25 pounds.
My weight loss continues -- currently I am 35 pounds down and have already lost a dress size. I have been good about sticking to the food recommendations and haven't found it too difficult. I take my vitamins, b12 and calcium. I really feel good.
The biggest thing is to eat slowly and chew well. Listen to your body, when your full stop. It is a very uncomfortable feeling when you get over full.
I am just beginning ion this journey, but so far.....it has been a good one for me!
