heatherm40
four years later......my blog on facebook of the ups and downs
Feb 10, 2012
Four years ago today, January 24th, 2008, at about 6:00 a.m, I was wheeled into the operating room leaving
behind my aunt and grandmother to just look on as the doors behind me had closed. I was about to go on a journey
that was going to change the rest of my life........gastric bypass. Which is where they take your stomach and
cut it down to the size of an egg, then cut most of your intestine out and reroute what little bit was left
in order for the body to only absorb only half the calories that you intake. Knowing fully the risks I was taking
I prayed as they wheeled me into the operating room, I wanted to come out of all this alive, but at the moments
before any surgery, you have the worse things possible running through your head, I had a beautiful daughter who was
just about to turn six, and a husband at the time that I needed to make sure I got back home to safely.
But I also knew that if I didnt go through with it, I may not have been around that long anyway.....I was
30 years old, had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea and needed a breathing machine at night due
to the fact that I would stop breathing up to 15 times a minute during the night, asthma, PCOS with insulin
restistence, my thyroid was way out of control, and in a deep depression. I had thought, this was how I would have
to live the rest of my life. That was until I made the best decision of my life......I was about to take back
control of it, which was something I had lost many, many years prior, in more ways than one. I weighed in at 300
lbs.
I had done all the research I could do, been told all the different stories......good and bad. I knew it
wasnt going to be a "quick fix" as many do refer to it as, due to the fact that it still is an everyday struggle
at times, and its for the rest of your life.....like I said, its a life-changing thing, cant turn back after
its done.......for better or worse, you cant undo it, its with you forever. It took about a year for all the
medical testing and approvals to go through. The only two things I had to make sure I did per the doctors
orders, was not to gain any more weight, and to quit smoking......I was at about two packs a day. And with the help
of Chantix, I was able to quit.......with some pretty messed up dreams.....:)
The surgery took a few hours, and I woke up to some familar, loving faces by my bedside. After spending
a few days in the hospital, I was sent home to now live a life full of monitoring everything I put into my body,
including an upteen amount of vitamins and suppliments in order to survive and be healthy seeing that I wasnt
going to be able to get them from the food I ate anymore. within the first week, I dropped 40 lbs, the second
week was 20 lbs......it was actually working!!!! I had my doubts, I had tried everything under the sun before
with not one pound lost.....and also with the PCOS, I read that it was nearly impossible to lose it without
the surgery. After that, I continued to loose 10 lbs every month....it was slow going, but I was loosing,
so who was I to complain. I was on my way to a healthier livestyle.
Then, in the summer of 2009, I had to get rushed back into surgery........with no complications till then.
I ended up having an ulcer eat its way through the area where they connected the remaining part of my intestine
and my little pouch of a stomach, which can be a very common complication due to the surgery, it can happen more
often for those who smoke after the surgery, but at that point, I hadnt started back up. They repaired the hole
and after a week, sent me home to recover. After two weeks at home, still in pain, and unable to recover from
the last surgery, the doctor put me back into the hospital. I had ended up getting a staph infection when I was
in the hospital, that they didnt catch before they sent me home, and ened up with two cysts that they had to incert
drains into. It took bout two weeks in the hospital before they were able to clear up the staph infection, and then
sent me home with the drains still intact, till a week in a half later when the doctor took them out in his office.
I was able to fully recover from that with the exception of having to be on stomach medication the rest of my life,
due to the fact that I still have ulcers, that really will not go away, but with the medication, it keeps them
at bay to where the chances of them eating another hole is still there but not as much as it is if I wasnt on the
medication. A year after that, I ended up rushing myself into the hospital, with my daughter in tow, my heart
started racing to over 240 beats per minute. I got into the er, and I told them what was going on right when I
got there and without hesitation they checked it, and sure enough it was beating over 240. Right then and there
they rushed into the back and started hooking me up to all sort of machines and IVs. With two doctors and three
nurses surrounding me and working on me.....all I could think of was that my daughter was n the room with me
watching all this. That was one of the most scariest moments for me just because, I knew being a CNA, that
a heartrate that high wasnt good, plus I had my daughter in there seeing them doing all this. Luckily, one of
the nurses ended up taking her into the other room, away from all the commotion. They ended up giving me medication
through the IV to slow my heart down to a normal rate. When all the tests came back, they showed that I was
extremly dehydrated, which was what caused my heart rate to jump so high. Which can also be another complication
due to the surgery.....easily getting dehydrated. that is why it is so important to closely monitor your fluid
intake. That was a lesson I ended up learning the hard way.
Now four years later......I have lost a total of 140 lbs, I no longer have high blood pressure, high
cholesterol, no more sleep apnea.......so no more breathing machine at night.....,my asthma is still there, but
that had greatly deminished, I will always have PCOS, but it has gone into remission.....PCOS doesnt have a
cure, once you have it, you will always have it, it doesnt go away, along with the insulin resistence, I still have.
Those are the pros that I have gained from my surgery, but there are some cons.........I cant have anything
with sugar in it.....due to the way my intestines now are, if I have anything sugar, I get dreadfully sick.
meaning, I am laid out on the floor in major stomach cramping, at times with vomiting.......and that can last
up to a few hours and nothing helps its pass along....just time. some may look at that as a con, but I actualy look at
it as a pro. For me that is a good thing, it helps keep me in check and keeps me on track. The pros are, I can have
major problems with my bloodsugar dropping.....sometimes as low as 45, when it should be about 90 to 100. And because
of that, I have to make sure I either always have something with me at eat, or my glucose tablets with me at
all times, because when it drops, it drops hard and fast without warning. I also am now anemic, so in order for
me to keep my iron to where it needs to be for me to function,I have to take up to 5 iron pills a day. Along with
my medication for my ulcers that I take everyday.
Do I regret ever doing the surgery? Absolutly not!! Even with the complications I ended up having. God only
knows where I would be if I didnt ever go through with it. Would I do it again? YES! in a heartbeat! Some have asked
me all sorts of questions about it due to the fact that they are considering it for themselves. The only
honest advice I can always give them is, it is different outcome for everyone. What may happen to one may not
happen to the next. noone can predict what will happen for them. It is NOT a quick fix, you must adjust your whole
way of life, everything will change, some for the good and some for the not so good. It is a personal decision
for everyone. In the beggining, I never wanted to let people know bout it, just because I know how some people
think.....but over time, I got over that. I dont care what others think anymore. I would rather have people know
about it and know that I went through it, so if I can help them in any which way I can, I am more than willing.
At the time I went through my surgery, I didnt know anyone personally that had gone trough it, so because of that,
I was going through all the changes alone. yes, I had my friends and family there to love and support me, but
its different when its coming from someone who has lived and is living it.
To my friends and family that have been there through all of the ups and downs......thank you and I love you all.
Eventhough I dont follow some of the rules of the surgery that I need to, my vitamin intake isnt the greatest
to where it should be, and I had started smoking again within the past couple years, which greatly increases
the risk of my ulcers eating their way through the lining again.....I am always careful. It is because of them
that have stuck by me and helped me out through all this, that I am able to be here to be the best mom I can be
to my beautiful now all most ten year old daughter.
So again, thank you and love you all, because without any of you, i dont know if I wouldve been able
to get as far into all this and have as much strides as I have.
