Deanna F.
01.16.06 This is my first time posting here. I am 49 years old, and I have been researching different WLS options. I have my first appointment with Dr. Roslin on Thursday, the 19th. I am very excited. This has been long process to get to this point. I have been contemplating surgery for a couple years now, and am ready for the step. I have read many posts here and I am still trying to decide which surgery is best for me, but I think I will just talk to Dr. Roslin and he can recommend what he thinks is best. I have struggled with my weight all my life, but have been over 200 lbs. for over 10 years. I think I have tried just about every diet there is, and nothing has helped. I have lost weight, but have gained all of it back and then some each time. I had pretty much resigned myself to being overweight and was okay with it... I thought. I lost my son in 2003, and then retired from my network admin job in 2004 as I could no longer deal with the stress associated with that type of work. Losing my child changed me... I was no longer the person I was previously. It has taken me some time (2 years) to be able to even manage my grief, but I can do that now, and I feel that I am a stronger person because of it. I am now ready to face the weight problem head on and realize that I am not okay with being obese the rest of my life. I do not like that fact that I can't even enjoy taking my grandchildren to amusement parks as I cannot walk around for more than a few minutes before I have to sit and rest. My quality of life is not as it should be. I want to enjoy my remaining years here on earth and I can't do that being this overweight. I feel like I am giving myself a rebirth... a chance to get healthy again and get out and enjoy life again!!
01.20.06 Had my meeting with Dr. Roslin yesterday. I left with a surgery date of 02.21.06 - a month from now!! Wow! I have to get all my preop stuff done now! After talking with Dr. Roslin, I have decided to go with the Lap RNY. I am so excited! I had such a good feeling meeting with him and with his staff. I was able to have my consult with him, the dietician and the psych evaluation all in the same day. That was really great as I live in PA and he is in Manhattan! It is a little way on the train for me.
01.23.06 I am struggling today with doubts as to whether or not I am doing the right thing. I have kept a running list of all the reasons I want to have WLS and I need to look at that today. I guess it is just nerves... I am excited, but nervous as well. I suppose this is normal. I think I will step back from this and try to put it out of my mind for a day or two so my mind can clear. Ugh!
01.24.06 Well, today I moved my surgery date back 4 days to the 17th of February! I also went today and got my chest xray, my EKG and blood work done. I am trying to get the endoscopy scheduled but seem to be having some issues with getting calls returned from my doctor's office. Boy is that frustrating. I will try again tomorrow. They want all these tests done before 2 weeks away from surgery, so I need to get it done! I also called my insurance company today and they told me they don't see anything pending for me... hmmm... that is not good. I told them it was supposed to be faxed over last Friday, and they said it usually only takes a couple days for approval. I know I am anxious to get this all done... I have never been known for having a lot of patience... oh well.
01.25.06 Ah, what a difference a day makes... I got news this morning that I am approved! I also have my endoscopy scheduled for next Tuesday, my PCP sign off on Monday, then I will be all done!! I will only have to wait after that for my date!
01.28.06 I went shopping yesterday for protein powder and vitamins. I also bought a baby spoon (my daughter who is a nurse told me to do this as it will be more in line with the bite size I will eat). It felt very strange to be shopping in the baby section for ME!! LOL I am going next week to buy a treadmill as it is very icy here in PA this time of year and I will be doing my initial walking indoors!
01.30.06 I had my preop sign off meeting with my primary care physician today, and everthing was great except for my EKG. All the other tests came back fine... but the results of my EKG said I may have had a previous heart attack!!! Well, I about fell off the table. I do not have anything that would lead me to believe I could have had a heart attack. I don't have high blood pressure, my cholesterol is normal, I am not diabetic, etc... When I got home I immediately did a Google search for this and saw that it is not that uncommon to get an error in an EKG. I am hoping and praying that is what it is!! Soooooo, Wednesday morning I get to go in for a stress test. Ugh. I was so hoping that tomorrow's endoscopy would be the last of my preop tests! But NOOOO!
01.31.06 Had the endoscopy done today. Doctor said he didn't see anything out of the ordinary there. One more thing checked off the list... now just have to do the stress test tomorrow!
02.01.06 Had the stress test done today. Have to wait for the results of the contrast pictures of my heart, but the doctor said the EKG looked just fine. Nothing to worry about. Yippee! All of my pre-op testing is done now.
02.06.06 I have found out all of the results from my pre-op tests are a-okay except the stress test... I have not gotten the results of that yet. I am sure it is fine as the doctor told me the EKG was fine, but I need to hear that for sure to stop worrying. I tend to worry about everything until I know for sure that everything is okay. I am getting so antsy to have this surgery, and I don't want anything to hold it up! It seems that the days are dragging by. I have been doing everything I know how to do to keep my mind off of it, but the truth is I can think of little else. I can't remember when I was this excited about an upcoming event!! I feel like a kid who can't sleep because they are going on vacation or something. I guess it feels like I am going to be free again after being trapped for so long. It is like this is not me. I am in here, but people talk to you differently when you are obese. They treat you differently. To me I am the same person I have always been, but people started acting differently toward me when I became obese. I couldn't put my finger on it for the longest time and didn't even make the connection until I started researching WLS. It was like a light bulb went on in my head... I thought Ahhhh, yes, that is it! Okay, I am rambling here. 11 more days... :-)
02.15.06 I haven't been posting because I have just been waiting... and waiting... and waiting. The day is almost here now. Two more days and I will be in surgery. Tomorrow I will be on a liquid diet and then nothing after midnight tomorrow night. That is going to be a long train ride Friday morning from Dover, NJ to Manhattan :-) I am so ready for this to happen. I am not nervous anymore... too late for that now. I was nervous at the beginning of this week when I realized I was having surgery THIS week! But now, I am just ready to do it and get it over with and get on with the losing!
02.16.06 Well, I am here... the night before surgery. Didn't think it would ever get here! I am going to be leaving here early in the morning to go catch the train into the city, so I thought I would post my last pre-op post :-) Next post I will be on the other side. This site has been so much help to me. I have always been very strong, but this has been a very emotional decision and journey.
02.21.06 Well, I did it! I made it to the losing side! My surgery was textbook stuff and I have had no complications. I had surgery on Friday, and came home on Sunday. I am sore, but I have experienced worse pain in my life. I think I was actually surprised. I am not saying it is painless... oooooh no, far from it. I am only having pain in one spot on the left side (which I am told is normal). The pain medication helps that. I am doing very well with getting my protein in and eating pureed foods. I have not gotten sick yet. I am still working on drinking that much water! Ugh... seems like so much to me! I am also walking every day. I am going to start doing more strenuous exercise after I see the doctor tomorrow and he removes my last drain. This is the best thing I have ever done for myself!! I am surprised that 4 days out I am saying this as I have heard at this stage you should be wondering what on earth you have done to yourself, but I don't feel that way. I knew I would hurt after surgery... that was to be expected....that was to be expected. Every single day I feel a lot better than the day before... and I will be feeling great in no time at all!!
03.03.06 Today is my 2 week anniversary! I am down 20 lbs by my scale, but I have my check up next Wednesday so I will get an official weight then. I am doing very well. My side is sore where the main incision is still healing, but it is very managable at this point. I am getting my protein in with no trouble. I am still trying to get my 64 oz. of fluids a day, but getting there. I am tolerating everything I eat very well. Last night my husband wanted chinese food, so I decided that I would have egg drop soup and vegetables with tofu. I was happy that I could eat out too and still eat healthy... especially at this early stage. I am exercising every day. I walk on a treadmill and I bought an elliptical which I use twice a day. The elliptical really gets my legs so I take it easy on that and do it twice a day. I am paying a lot of attention to this new developing routine, and trying to make sure I get it right. I figure the habits we start early are the ones that stay with us, so I am trying to get that established. It is nice to be able to sleep on my left side again. I was only able to sleep on my back right after surgery and then on my back and my right side. My right hip is the one that suffers from the sciatica I have due to herniated disks in my lower spine so this has been troublesome, but now I can sleep on my left side too, I just have to position myself carefully. I still have one incision that is healing. It is the main one on the left side, and it is closing up, but is not completely closed yet. Every single day I feel better than the day before and I am very pleased with my progress!!
03.23.06 Wow, I didn't even update for my one month anniversary! Well, I will do that now. I did have my doctor appointment on 03.08.06 and was only down 17 lbs instead of 20 but I am very thankful for that loss. It is remarkable. So much more than I could have ever accomplished without the surgery. So, as of today, I am pain free in my side unless I really strain (yippee), and I am down about 28 lbs. I have hit my first plateau as I have been this weight (205) for over a week now. I have read so many posts about this and knew to expect it right at about 3 weeks out, and sure enough, that is when it happened. I have been exercising and getting my protein in, my fluids as much as possible, and I eat sensibly (and I can only eat about 2-3 oz. at a time anyway). I know it will pass, but it is a little disheartening. I have not measured myself lately to see how many inches I have lost but I will do that this week. I did have my husband take a couple of 1 month photos of me so I can keep a log every month!! I am still so very excited to be losing this weight. It means so much to me.
05.29.06 Wow, it has been a while since I updated. I have been in AZ for the past 2 months with my mother. She had a stroke in April. She is doing better now, and is going to come and live with me when she is done with rehab. Anyway, I have lost 62 lbs. now!!! I am so amazed. I am down about 4 clothes sizes (depends on how they are made).
