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Well, 9 months ago today I started my pre-op diet.  I weighed 330 pounds.  Today, I weigh 230 pounds.    I feel like a different person!  I am more than halfway to my goal (which is a weight I have never been as an adult) and it now seems so possible! 

I can eat or drink anything I want, so at this point it is up to me to make wise choices, drink lots of water and get lots of activity and exercise.  But I feel great so exercise is much easier and enjoyable now. 

Getting the sleeve was one of the best things I have ever done for myself.  Thank you to my mom, sister, fiance, and my surgeon Dr. Winterstein! 

Well, things are going good.  I am getting around pretty well, and not really needing pain meds any more.  Food is going down good.  Water intake is still difficult, because water hurts to drink.  So sugar-free popsicles have become my best friend!  Unfortunately they have carbs, but until I can get my water intake up, I *need* to keep up my fluids. 

My weight loss has slowed down, but it was to be expected.  I had been warned by other post-ops about the dreaded 3 week stall.  Well, I'm afraid I've hit it.  It's where your body goes, "what the h@ll did you do to me???"  But, the advice from the VSG veterans is to keep doing what I'm supposed to be doing and my body will eventually calm down, and I'll start losing again.



May 23, 2008:  8 Days Out and In for Tests - Leak??

So, yesterday I had some stabbing pains in my left mid-section that were new and painful.  I had told myself that if they were still there this morning, I would call my surgeon.  I did call, and they decided I needed a chest and abdominal cat-scan with barium and IV contrast.  (Didn't I just do this on Sunday??)

So in I went, to drink some orange-flavored barium, which again made me sick and extremely nauseaus.  The nurse said some people just cannot stomach the barium drink.  After 3 bad barium experiences in 3 months, I have decided that I am one of those people. 

The nurse had quite a bit of trouble getting an IV in me.  I still had my 3 IV bruises and my blood gas bruise, so finding a decent spot for the IV was difficult.  After two failed attempts that brought me to tears, she finally got an IV in my left arm, on the inside of my elbow where they usually draw blood.

The test went okay, and about 30-45 minutes after returning back home, the PA at my surgeon's office called and said that the tests looked good and they found no leaks.  Yay!!!


May 18, 2008: Home from the Hospital!

Well, I am home.  I was originally supposed to be released on Saturday, but Fridays nausea and vomiting fiasco (after my upper GI leak test) set me back a little so they kept me an extra day.

Sunday morning, I noticed how extremely sore and tender my calves were.  I had been wearing those puffy, air-filled, pumping stockings the majority of the time, but my calves were still very sore.  It was so bad, I would yelp in pain just from touch.  I also was having stabbing pains in my lungs when I took my deep breaths and used my spirometer.  So they ordered a doppler scan on both legs to check for blood clots, and then a chest cat scan with IV contrast.  Then they did an EKG.  The doctor who was on call for my surgeon (one of his surgical associates) had told me that I was going to be kept one more day, and I could leave on Monday.  So I took a nap, and the PA from my surgeon's office came and woke me up and said that all tests had come back good, and I could go home.  So they released me, and I got home around 6 in this evening.

I just took a long shower and spent 20 minutes trying to comb out the tangled bedhead hair that I got in the hospital.  So nice to be home, clean, in my pajamas and my own comfy bed.  Now, to rest so that tomorrow I can begin my sipping, walking, and healing!

Well, I am on the final stretch.  I've done it all: surgeon consult, a big list of pre-op tests (including a whole morning spent at the hospital), a psych consult, my final physical with my pcp (done 1 week before surgery), my nurse visit and nutritional consult at my surgeon's office, and my initial processing and medical history with my hospital nurses.  All thats left is to pay my bill!

I talked to my surgeon's office and the business people finally finished processing the VSG self-pay contract!  Woo-hoo!  Tomorrow they will be faxing it to my surgeons office for the head of the bariatric department (Dr. Anthone) to review and okay it, then it will be faxed to the business office at the hospital for me to sign and pay.  Depending on how long this all takes, I will either be paying tomorrow afternoon, or Wednesday morning.  My surgery is 7:30am on Thursday, talking about cutting it down to the wire!!!

*Thank you to Kathy, the RN at my surgeon's office who put her foot down when the business people tried to postpone my surgery.  She informed them that they have been waiting for this contract long enough, and I was ready for surgery so she was not going to postpone it.  They needed to get the contract done because I was having my surgery on Thursday.  Thank you, thank you, Kathy!!*

I am getting really excited, but I am kinda nervous because I don't like tubes sticking out of my body, and I already know that there will be a few in me; the nurse explained them each to me on Friday.
 
I'm trying not to think of all that and focus on my excitement .  The clock is ticking...!

Well, I am finishing my second full day of my pre-op diet.  It started out a little rough, but I consider May 1st the dress rehearsal.  It seems that I have it lucky to be able to eat meats, fruits and vegetables for the majority of the 2-week period.  My body is certainly freaking out from lack of carbs, fat, sugar, and caffeine, and from being filled with protein, something that it is not used to seeing much of.  I was told that the first few days are the worst and  most uncomfortable, then your body starts to adjust and things will get better. 

I have my final physical with my doctor on Thursday, and then on Friday I have a nurse visit and nutritional consult at my surgeon's office. 

I still have not paid or signed the contract, but I have talked to the office, and they gave me an official self-pay price.  Apparently the negotiations are over and now they just have to print the paperwork.  I have a feeling I will be paying and taking care of all that this week. 

Well, now it's time to stick to my pre-op diet, get my house ready for recovery, and tie up the loose ends in preparation for May 15!

I am getting sooooo excited!! 

I got a date!  I got a date!  I got a date!  Hey, hey, hey, hey!  

So, May 15, 2008 is my date.  That's my half birthday!

This all rests on the hope that my hospital will finalize its self-pay VSG contract by April 29th.  The bariatric office is counting on this happening on time.  I am hoping and praying that all works out.  It has to.  It will.  I know it will.

Let the countdown begin!!! 

My bariatric journey began a few years ago when I first became interested in weight loss surgery.  For the last couple of years, off and on, I have been researching the different types of weight loss surgery.  I did not have health insurance during this time, so the reality of it was slim, but I remained hopeful.  (I was a full-time college student, too old for my parents insurance, and my part-time job only offered full-time health insurance).  Now I have insurance, but it has an iron-clad weight loss and bariatric exclusion, so I was denied.  I have recently figured out funding, thanks to the help of my parents and my older sister, so I was able to officially begin my bariatric journey in February. 

February 26 was my consult with Dr. Winterstein.  Everyone in the office was really nice, and I really liked my surgeon; he was honest and open, and seemed to truly care about his patients.  I had an excellent consult and I left feeling confident with my decision of a surgeon, and excited to begin the whole process.

I had a big list of pre-op tests that I needed to get done.  It took three appointments, but I was able to complete them all between March 13 - 20.  The first appointment was at my doctor's office.  They drew 5 vials of blood, collected a urine sample, and took 2 chest x-rays.  My second appointment was at the hospital.  I had one more vial of blood drawn and they took my blood gas, which is done by a syringe in an artery in your wrist.  (Ouch!!)  Then I had an abdominal ultrasound, a barium upper GI, and a complete pulmonary function test.  The third appointment was an hour-long psych consult.  I was kinda nervous before this appointment, but talking so candidly to someone was actually pretty enjoyable.  But I hated the set-up of the room.  She was at a desk about three feet away from me, and my chair was set up right in the middle of the room.  There was a strip of track lighting on the ceiling, and the lights were all pointed right at my chair.  It was like an interrogation room set-up!  Weird. 

Right now, I am waiting for the hospital to finish their self-pay contract for the VSG, so that I can pay and get a surgery date!  I have talked to the office about having my surgery between May 12 - 23 because I have summer classes in June and July, and then I student teach in a Kindergarten classroom from August to December.  So my schedule is kind of set.  I hope they finish the contract soon, so that I can get a date during those days before they get filled with other surgeries!  I have talked to the surgeon's office on a weekly basis, and they are aware of my situation; their hands are tied because hospital policy is that I must pay in full before they will give a surgery date, but I can't pay until they finalize the contract.  I did find out at my most recent call that all of my pre-op test results were received.  They said my only hold-up before getting a date is the contract, so I must have passed all my tests!! 

So now I am playing the waiting game, anxious for the business people to get this all figured out...