ihaveaninnerskinny

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Well surgery was Tuesday, February 9 at 1:00pm.  I walked into the operating room and the last deep breath I took before lights out was 2:37pm.

Someone decided that because of conflicting reports in my chart, I "might" have severe sleep apnea so rather than go back to my room after recovery, I was taken to ICU for the night so they could watch me sleep.  Haaaaaa right!  Sleeping in ICU without the help of drugs is damn near impossible.

Because I am as stubborn as I am, I needed to pee and refused to use the bedpan. I wanted to walk to the bathroom or use the commode chair.  After much debate with the nurse (of course mine was on break when I needed to go)  it was decided that the chair would be used.  Can't believe how she DIDN'T help me up so I struggled in my still groggy state to get out of bed and onto the chair.  Relief when I got to pee... Hmmmm foot is wet? Did she not put the pee bucket in right??  Then I look down.  BLOOD

Seems one of my incisions decided to open in the process of me standing up and what I thought was pee on my foot was the blood spewing out of me!  Thankfully my nurse came back while this was happening.  She helped me back into my bed, cleaned up the blood and redressed my incision.  No more issues with it other than the lovely dinner plate sized bruise I have been left with, which is now in the yellow/brown/green ucky stage.

My doctor decided that because I was in ICU for the night and lost a very valuable day of recovery he wanted to keep me for an extra day so I was moved into a room where I would stay until I was released on good behavior on Friday morning.  While in my room, I met a very nice lady from Elliot Lake, Ontario who also had the same surgery but she was staying for a few extra days because she also had a hernia fixed during her surgery.

Not too much pain while I was there.  Just seemed during the wee morning hours (2-3am) I would wake up with cramps that my night nurse took care of by giving me a morphine cocktail.  Since I've been home, no pain meds and no pain except when I made the mistake of drinking too fast.... OUCH! Won't be doing that again anytime soon.

While in the hospital, I managed to gain 7lbs because of the IV fluids they were giving me.  Thankfully I had the heads up from my doctor before surgery or I would have freaked.

Since coming home Friday morning, I've been moving around alot... even doing some stuff I shouldn't have been (yep I swept and did some minor housework) but no major issues.  I decided before my surgery, actually Tuesday, Jan. 19 when i started my Optifast pre-op diet that I would weigh myself each Tuesday and track my progress. .......

Well today is Tuesday and what a surprise........

Not only have I lost the 7lbs I gained while in the hospital but I managed to lose 2.9lbs beyond that.  So 9.9 lbs since coming home and a total of 27.9 since I started my liquid diet.  If this is even a small glimpse of what is to come, I'm going to be a very happy girl.

Now... My Doctor....

I changed doctors part way thru the process because my original doctors associate had a cancellation that I took.

I am now in the very capable hands of an incredibly awesome doctor.  Dr. Quoc Huyhn.  He doesn't appear to be very old.  I would say probably mid to late 30's.  I met him face to face just before my surgery when he met me in the operating room waiting area. He greeted me with a friendly smile and comforting handshake.  He sat and talked with me for about 20 minutes and went over everything he was going to do and what I could expect after. 

He came in to see me on Friday morning, checked on my incisions, gave me the clearance to come home and now I'm in the very capable hands of my parents who have taken to yelling at me when I'm doing something I'm not supposed too!!  Funny, I never got yelled at as a child and now I get it for picking up the mop!! LOL ohhhhhhh well a few weeks of recovery and I'll be good to go.

Next step....... Follow up appointment on March 9 with the dietician and March 11 witht he doctor.

and so continues the journey to me meeting my innerskinny!!!

Yeaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Me!!!!

Hmmmmmm where to start.... I figure since I've been lurking around on OH for a few months now and I'm weeks away from a surgery date I should get my arse in gear and start my personal page....


I'm 39 years young and I've been fighting a weight problem since about the age of 12.  I started putting on the pounds and it just snowballed from there.  I was the chubby, chunky, big boned girl in the family (well on my moms side anyway).  Dads side of the family is pretty much made up of "big stock" so I come by my size genetically and by the fact that I like food.

I never really gave notice to my size because I was always surrounded by friends that didn't judge me, or make fun of me for being bigger.  Then one day I heard the worst thing that could possibly be said .... from my dads mother.  She looked me right in the face and said to me " Dear you have such a pretty face, now if only you would lose some weight".  Yep nice thing to say to a  grandaughter at 15yrs old.  Even more surprising coming from someone who also had a weight problem.  That is definitely the one thing in my life, weight related, that  I will never forget. 

Having said that, I've now decided that I'm tired of being the token, funny, fat girl and am starting on the road to just being the funny girl.  I think (and some may not agree) that I have a pretty great personality, a wicked sense of humor and a heart that is big enough to fill this frame and then some, but I'm also sure it will be quite comfortable in a smaller home.

Now we fast forward to March 2009 when a friend turns me on to Dr. Levy.  After some meetings with Dr. Levy, I'm in line for blood work, sleep studies and ultimately an appointment with the surgeon.

I met with my surgeon, Dr. John Hagen on November 23 and after reviewing my file, and a brief chat we decided that RNY was in the cards for me.

A few more meetings with the Social Workers, Nutritionist, Internal Med doc and then I wait.  Not for long because on January 7th, I got 'THE CALL'. There was a cancellation with one of the other surgeons, Dr. Quoc Huynh and the office wanted to know if I was interested... YES, I AM!!! So  I got a surgery date of February 9, 2009.  On January 14th, I visited the hospital for all my pre-admit. stuff.  On January 15th I picked up my Optifast and here I am now on the night before I will begin the next best part of my life.  On January 19, 2009 I will begin my 3 week liquid pre-op diet.

Wow, talk about fast.  I figured things would hit a slow down and I would wait months, and here I am 3 weeks away from the day when my Inner Skinny gets ready to dig her way out.

Will I miss the old, bigger me???.... Maybe a little, Maybe not at all.  Guess time is going to tell but I can say that I am definitely excited about taking this step in the direction of a healther me. I'm looking forward to being able to shop off the rack, to be more comfortable in an airplane seat, have an easier time with seatbelts, and most of all, being able to run around and play for longer periods of time with my 3yr old niece and not have to sit and take a breather!!!

I have an awesome family and great friends who are very supportive of me and I made a promise to myself and them that I will make them proud, and dammit I'm gonna do just that!

So here goes...... Tomorrow morning I will raise my glass of Chocolate Optifast and toast to a newer, healthier, happier me and make everyone more proud of me than they already are, me included!!!