IncredibleShrinkingViolet

Send Message

Block

Add Friend

Had my gallbladder out a few weeks ago and finally feeling better. What I took as "gnawing hunger" was the stupid gallbladder acting up all these years. I knew immediately after surgery that the feeling was gone.

I work at a long-term care facility for veterans and we took some of them fishing last week. It was good to have enough energy to walk the long pier to the pontoon - TWICE and then walk all the way to the end to check out some people who were panfishing there.

Next time, however, I will bring my own lunch, since the kitchen supplied us with food I should not have eaten...nibbled on a white bread sandwich of deli meat and fake cheese. Yuck! But we had plenty of bottled water and I filled up on that between bouts of taking fish off the hook and finding bait for the guys.

Had vertical sleeve gastrectomy on April 25, 2014 and ended up with a leak, an infection and a bleed and spent five weeks in the hospital. After another two months at home on a feeding tube, I am finally back to work and learning how to eat with my new stomach. It's certainly been a learning process getting enough water and protein each day. My gallbladder will be removed in a couple of weeks, as it caused severe liver failure while hospitalized and a drain was put in because I was too sick for another surgery at the time.

I have not been allowed to exercise yet, so further weight loss will be slow until after healing from the cholecystectomy. The plan is to use the elliptical trainer and a borrowed touring bike, plus some Tai Chi, as those things will be easy on the arthritis. I do feel better having lost about 50 pounds, though, so things are looking up!

By Monday, I should hear when the first appointment with the surgeon and seminar will be. So far, everything has gone smoothly, and hope it continues before I get a permanent case of the jitters. Looking forward to the new challenge! Like most of you, I have had obesity issues since just before puberty. Both sides of hte family going back three generations (that I can prove with pictures, anyway) were also obese. Of course, there are many reasons for obesity -- habit, family tradition, using food as punishment/reward, addiction, using food for comfort, etc. I think our family probably does all that.

I was very athletic after the age of 14, though, and that has barely kept things at bay until illness and injury stopped me from working out to the extent I was used it. Things are better now, and I want to get back in shape before I am too old to enjoy it/too old to have the surgery! I was complaining about my brother, who is dying at a young age because he refuses to do anything to help himself. Several people in my family have done just exactly that and I mourned all of it for the duration. Well, I suddenly realized I am no better than they are if I don't take this opportunity to help myself by having this surgery. Especially since nothing else has worked so far. Getting at least some of the weight off will allow me to exercise without so much pain, and will stop the vicious circle thats going on now.

I work in the medical field, so am not as much afraid of the surgery as i am of having it fail on down the road, or turn out to be a mistake in case I get a serious illness and the VS makes it harder to get well. I was born with a defect in my immune system and don't make antibodies. But I know that the medicine I take for that will work better if I lose some weight, and less weight is easier on the immune system anyway, becasue it doesn't have to work so hard (better circulation of the lymph system, for example). It's been a pleasure reading all the stories on this website and especially good to see all the great support that's given out. Life is supposed to be an adventure, so...I say, Let the Adventure Begin!