Coming up on 6 months post op

Aug 29, 2011

Now that I am almost 6 months post op, I figure I should probably update.  The past 6 months have been very busy and finding time to do this has been difficult.

I'm down about 120 pounds since my highets ever weight and about 110ish since surgery.  I feel awesome.  I am able to be physically active in ways I wasn't before.  I run, particpate in group fitness classs at the gym, do Zumba when my wife forces me to, and enjoy life like never before.  It is awesome.

A daily meal plan at this point consists of 1 egg and 2 pieces of bacon, almost daily.  I'll mix it up with some sausage or grilled ham some days.  I cook the meat ona  george forman to drain as much fat as possible.  Lunch will usually be some meat, whether it be grilled chicken, taco meat with some cheese and lettuce or if I'm depsreate and can't find anything, a chicken tender from somewhere.  I avoid fried foods at all costs but I do have them maybe 2 times a month.  Supper will usually be more of lunch type foods.  I will snack on things like 1 ounce of peanuts or a slice or two of cheese....maybe some beef jerky.  All measured portions to allow for control.  I always get in 60 grams of protein minimum and have been for a few months now.  I don't do protein drinks because they make me sick.  I know people will say thats horrible, but I'm able to get my protein from food and don't need the drinks.  It is extrememly difficult to do that so I strongly advise against it.  Until you can do this daily, don't even consider it an option.

I take my vitamins and calcium daily.  They make me a little queasy if I take them on an empty stomach.  I try to take them just before breakfast.  I was exercising multiple times a week but the last few weeks I've been clearing off my property and building a fence, so I have been working much harder than I ever did at the gym...this week I'll be getting back to my workouts....

I have loose skin but it hasn't become an issue yet, other than it is annoying....if that makes sense....no rubbing or sores or anything like that.....gotta run...feel free to message me any questions you have!
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A little over a month out now

Apr 13, 2011

So it is now a little over a month out.  I have been swamped at work between server failures and replacments and yadda yadda that OH has unfortunatly been an afterthought.  But I've got a minute now so I'll run a lil blog update!

I am down about 50 pounds so far.  The weight loss is dramatic and it is nothing short of amazing how great I feel.  My joint pain is gone.  I can get up out of chairs and bed without moaning for inspiration.  It is simply wonderful to feel 'great' again.  It had been so long.

I'm wearing clothes that I haven't worn in years.  I have an entire wardrobe going down to XL from the 3x I was wearing.  I never threw the clothes that didn't fit out because I 'just knew' I'd be able to wear them again lol...didn't think it would come thsi way lol...

As for eating, this was my biggest concern.  What I have found is that I am, fortunatly and unlike many others, able to tolerate just about any meats.  I am however, now, lactose intolerant which is a heart breaker because I used to drink about half a gallon of milk a day.  I actually contribute that greatly to my weight and thick bones.  Maybe it isn;t the reason but I'll always believe so.

I haven't had problems with meats sticking or pain or anything like that.  The biggest 'shock' has been the quantity.  When they tell you that you can only eat 2 or 3 small bites, believe them!!!  I have had to really adjust to eating slow.  It hasn;t been as difficult as I thought but if I am not paying attention, I'll scarf down four bites in a minute or two and relaize I just screwed myself.  The best thing I can say, is get a second plate when you go out to eat.  Put a small piece, one or two bites on the second small plate and set the other just out of reach so that you will have to make a conscious effort to add more to your small plate.  My wife and I have started sharing every dinner, so that the main plate is in fornt of her and she can help me control my time between bites.  If I have a plate in front of me full of food, I will mess up.

I haven;t had a problem with drinking with meals like I thought I would.  It just hasn't been a problem at all.  I am now easily able to get about 50 ounces a day and would get much more if I just remembered to drink.  Half the time I forget to drink until about noon and have to play catch up.  Hasn;t been too difficult though.

The one thing that has been a huge problem is the protein drinks.  They just make me so sick.  I have tried everything I am told and each day I have drank one, in the last two weeks, I have ended up throwing up and not being able to take in anytning else, liquid or solid that day.  I fortunatly am able to eat enough meat trhoughout the day to get close to my protein goal and as I move forward I anticipate soon being able to surpass my goal.  It does take a strong effort but with weighing and proper portion control I feel I can do it.  Sometimes it means my meals take an hour to eat, like if I was having 3 ounces of beef, it could easily take an hour to eat it all.  But it is the only way I can get in enough protein without the shakes. 

Anyways, feel free to message me or email me if you have any questions.  Best advice I can give anyone is that this surgery is worth the change in lifestyle.  Be prepared and cautious that your addiction to food doesn't transfer to some other additive activity as well.  I found myself in the few weeks after buying lottery tickets.  Stupid.  I finally realized it was a spin off from my addiction to food.  Rather than grab a bag of doritios I'd grab a few bucks in lottery tickets.....just be careful of your actions soon after surgery while you are adjusting.  And most of all, trust that the Lord will see you through this in the way his plan calls for and that is the only way I want it to be!!!!   GOD BLESS!!!!
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Post Op - Days 3-5

Mar 14, 2011

Day 3 -
I typed up this really great long post but I ended up accidentally going bakc a page and losing it all.....that was depressing....

So anyways, Day 3, Saturday was a good day.  I woke up early and felt great.  The pain is getting better with each day.

I was able to get in about 50 grams of protein and close to 50 ounces of H2O.  My wife and I went to exercise around 2:00 and I ended up walking a mile.  It felt good knowing that I'm on a road to weight loss and that there is a definate goal that will be reached rather than feeling like it was a waste.  I also had an awesome moment when I stepped on the scales in the locker room of the gym.  On Tuesday, the day before surgery I weghed 360.  When I weighed on Saturday, I weighed 346.  14 pounds!  That was awesome....

So I finished out the night at church like I do every Saturday working the sound booth for the praise band practice....lots of fun and it was great to see my friends again....and talk to them because two of them have had WLS(RNY) and can relate to much of what I am going through....

Day 4 -

I wanted some variation on my protein shakes so instead of making one for breakfast, I went by the store on the way to church to see what they had.  The only thing I could find was a Muscle Milk.  The light ones aren;t too bad but the regular ones are just really unhealthy....lots of fat and calories...sugars....yuck....but it was all there was so I got it....it tasted good....

I spent much of the day laying around watching golf...can't wait to get back to playing....I'm going to reward myself with lessons once I reach my goal weight....no sense in doing them sooner as a person's weight can greatly effect their swing....

Today I was able to get in about 50 grams of protein and 50 ounces of H2O.  I also had some SF chocolate pudding(about 1/2 a small container) and about 2 ounces of tomato basil from la madelinnes thinned with some milk....yummy

Day - 5

Today I returned to work.  All is going great so far.  Pain is minimal and I'm able to avoid doing anything too physically demanding.  One weird thing is I'm itching like crazy all over....can't figure that out....

I'm already about 30 grams of protein and 35 ounces of water....gonna be a good day.....gonna go by the gym after work and try to get in two miles and a weigh in....maybe down to 343?
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Post Op Day 2

Mar 11, 2011

I woke up this morning early and with minimal pain.  It was difficult to 'roll' out of bed without using ab muscles.  I went ahead and took a pain med just to prevent getting like I did the night before with the extreme pain.  I sat down on the couch and it wasn't long before the pain med's made me ready to go back to bed.  So thats what I did!

I ended up sleeping until almost 1 in the afternoon.  That was a great decision.  I have felt much more rested ever since.  I have taken naps through the day after taking half a lortab but I think the long nap this morning was what has made me so energetic this evening.

I drank about 8 ounces or just under that of protein shake today and was only able to get down about 20 ounces of water.  I really have to work on that.  I was peeing like crazy all day, I guess all the fluids from the hospital are being pushed out of me now.  I assume I will get dehydrated quickly if I don't step up the water intake asap.  I'm shooting for 40 ounces minimum tomorow and 64 by the next day.  I think sonic Ice will help me get there lol.

This evening, since i was supposed to start my full liquids, I decided to try a little applesauce.  I mixed about a teaspoon of applesauce with about the same water, how ever much it took to make it almost runny.  where I made the mistake was eating it all in about 5 minutes.  That was stupid.  I have been hurting for two hours since then.  I have got to learn to slow down.  I'm thinking about leaving my bowl in the kitchen and sitting in another room, that way I have to get up for every bite.  I think that would help me get used to slowing down the pace.

I also made some onion soup but didn't get to try it.  I plan on eating that for the next few days.  It smells awesome! 

Anyways, to summarze the day, I slept alot, ate too much, didn;t drink enough, and am ready to get back to sleep again.  I'll continue updating so check back often!
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Post-Op - Day 1

Mar 11, 2011

I didn't really get a great deal of sleep the night after my surgery.  I can't sleep in hospitals.  The nurses didn't bother me too much, maybe once or twice, but I walked often and kept chewing my ice chips.  About 7:30 in the morning the day shift nurse came in and told me to get changed into my clothes and prepare to be discharged. 

Being that we lived 7 hours from Denton, I was wanting to leave as soon as possible to drive during the day and to avoid traffic as much as possible.  About that time, the kitchen staff brought around breakfast.  I was hoping for some more onion soup as it was great the night before to sip on that.  Very soothing.  i open up the tray to find three slabs of bacon and some french toast.  Pretty ticked off.....  I got the nurse to order some broth for me, which came quickly.  My wife ate the bacon.  Lucky.  I got the broth and made the mistake of taking in too much too soon.  I didn't puke but it did hurt.  A full feeling like I couldn't even explain.  Just a huge pressure right under your chest.  

Eating too much to early made me feel bad for most of the day so I ended up slacking off on eating ice chips.  I almost got dehydrated and had trouble using the restroom because of it.  Around noon I was getting anxious and asked when the Dr. was expected to be by.  It was then I found out that he wouldn't be in until atleast 5 pm.  That was sort of upsetting because I was so ready to get out of there.  But we laid around watching tv and being bored.  It ended up that after the dr. got the hospital he was asked to step in on a surgery with another surgeon and due to that, we didn't get checked out until after 7:00 pm.  

We still wanted to get home that night so we decided we'd go ahead and drive straight through.  We made plans to stop at the most every hour for atleast 5-10 minutes.  We stuck to that and  everything went well.  We got about 2 hours outside of Beaumont and the pain started back in my chest just like it did right after surgery.  It became excrutiating.  We kept hoping to find a 24 hour pharmacy and found one in Cleveland, TX where the pharmacist was able to very quickly get the lortab scrip filled in about 30 seconds.  That was a God send because I was near tears over the pain.  We ended up getting home about 2:30 am, unloaded the car and jumped into bed.

It was a long day but I did learn a few important things.  First I learned that I HAVE TO eat slowly, even with broth.1/2 tsp every 5 minutes would probably be ok.  I'm going to try that going forward.  I also have to be very mindful that I'm constantly drinking water or eating ice.  It is easy to get dehydrated and you just feel bad when you are.  I also learned that pain medicine after discharge is crucial.  If you have to wait a day you will be in pain.  Get them filled asap.  Plan on taking some every 6 hours.  Also, if you travel for the few weeks after surgery, make sure you move around as often as possible.  Blood clots can be fatal and can happen to anyone.  I made sure to move around in the seat and shift my weight, flex my legs, move my arms, and stop hourly to walk. 

It was so great to get to sleep in my own bed.  I can't even express how great that was.  Sleeping was comfortable and pain was minimal.
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Surgery.....

Mar 11, 2011

As I'm sitting here two days post op writing these blogs, I forget how easily tired these loritabs make me....and having to remember to stop and sip in between too.....but I will get these blogs up to date in the next day or two....

We scheduled the surgery for Wednesday March 9, 2011.  We live about 6-7 hours away from the surgeon and hospital so we left on Monday to get there for the pre-op stuff on Tuesday and surgery on Wednesday.  Tuesday breezed by without issue and before I knew it, it was Wednesday morning.  I can honestly say I was only nervous for a very short period on Tuesday night.  Other than that, I was never nervous.  Anxious, excited, yes.  Nervous no.  I attribute that to a few things.  I am a Christian and prayer is a huge part of my life.  I knew God was listening all along and had plenty of friends and loved ones praying for me.  I also had done my research and had complete confidence in the abilities of Dr. Stewart and the surgery I chose.

On Wednesday morning, we arrived at the hospital at 6:00 am for my 7:30 surgery.  My wife was allowed to come back to pre-op with me.  I met with the nurses, Dr. Stewart stopped by, a respitory specialist, and the anethesiologist.  They had one heck of a time trying to get an IV started.  It took a few tries before finally the anesthesiologist was able to get it stabbed in my left wrist.  They tried using lydocane to numb the skin but honestly that hurt more than the needle.  About that time they told us it was time to go and I kissed my wife good bye and they wheeled my into the OR. 

It, as expected, was busy in the OR.  They moved me to the table and started to buckle me in.  I started praying and honestly don't remember much past that.  I don't even remember them telling me the medicine was coming but I wasn't paying much attention at that point anyway.  So I'm asleep and being cut up and yadda yadda.  I remember seeing the clock was 7:38 the last time I looked.

The next thing I remember was complaining about chest pain at 9:37.  People were everywhere around me going frantic.  I was trying to explain that my stomach felt like it was on fire but all I could get out was chest pain right here(pointing to just right of my sternum).  Apparently complaining of chest pain in the OR/recovery room is like screaming bomb on an airplane.  I ended up being required to have oxygen for the next 24 hours as a precaution.  Everything showed my heart was great but better to be safe than sorry I guess.  I drifted in and out for the next two hours in recovery asking for more morphine, before finally at about 10:30 the anethesiaologist told the nurse to go ahead and give me the rest of the morphine, something about 4 shots.  From there it was all a lil fuzzy until shortly before noon when my wife and mom met me in my room.  I do remember asking who my roomy was and them telling me I was in a private room.   Other than that it was pretty foggy....

I didn't get anymore morphine after that because I frankly just hate being groggy.  I have a very high pain tolerance and would prefer a slight pain over being out of it.  I just hate that feeling.  I was dying for ice chips but they told me none for 6 hours after I was out of surgery.  That came to about 3:15 pm so I guess I got out at 9:15 am.  They brought me a cup and told me I could have two ounces an hour at 3:00 pm.  Talk about a gift sent from heaven!  I never knew ice could be so great.  It was like I just won the lottery!

After getting my ice, I asked when I could get up and walk around and they replied, whenever you want.  So needless to say, I was skipping to my lou around the hospital by about 3:15 pm.  I couldn't take being in the bed any longer so I walked most of the night.  The pain was minimal thanks to the toridal(sp?) and eventually loritab elixir.

In my next blog, I'll go over my first day post op.  Should be coming up soon as I'm not too tired yet.  Splitting the 7.5/500 loritabs in half is working great...minimal pain and no where near the grogginess.  I'm going to continue trying that.  See ya soon!

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An introduction

Mar 10, 2011

Even though I am starting this two days post op, I want to start at the beginning by introducing myself and letting yo get to know me.

I have always been overweight but it was never limiting until the last 5 or so years.  I began working as an IT Manager about 6 years ago and became more sedintary with sitting in the office and not getting out to do things. 

In march of 2010 I made the decision I wanted weight loss surgery.  I researched and made the decision I wanted to have the D-Switch.  I found Dr. Stewart in Dallas,TX and went up for a seminar in March 2010.  Dr. Stewart was one of the few Dr.s in the state of Texas doing the D- Switch and really had developped an excellent reputation for his skill and abilities.  After meeting him I had no doubts about him.  However, due to my insurance having an exclusion for weight loss surgery, I saw no way I could afford the D-Switch with the cost being about $23,000.

I tried convincing my employer to change plans to no avial, tried getting loans but refused to pay th outrageous interest rates they offered, and eventually came to the decision to use a portion of my 401k retirement account to pay for my surgery.  After extensive research and the seminar in which I heard Dr. Stewart talk about the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, I decided for the cost, about half the DS, and with the relative complexity when compared to the DS, the VSG was right for me.

All of that took place from March 2010 to about October 2010.  It was in October that I made the final decision.  I was playing a softball game with some friends when a player was out for that night.  I hit the ball and took off running for first base.  Halfway there, my right knee collapsed and wouldn't support my weight.  Hopping along on my left knee caused it to collapse as well.  i fell to the ground and was in excruciating pan for an hour before finally being able to limp around.  It took almost a month for the pain to go away completely.  It was the first time I'd ever felt truly limited by my weight.  I decided then that I would do the surgery and fix my weight permanently.

I contacted Dr.Stewarts office in February 2011, after getting through the holidays and getting through all the red tape to find out how much and in what way I could pull out of 401k.  I was able to schedule an initial pre-op appointment for the next Tuesday.  It ended up that that was the day that a huge snow storm hit Dallas and more or less shut the city down.  Since we had driven so far, Dr. Stewart and two of his office workers came up to the office to see us even with the horrible weather.  I still am amazed at them doing that.  It was a very nice thing for them to do.

I had most all my pre-requirements already complete due to some medical tests I had to have over the past few years, so I only had to wait on my 401k funding to be processed.  That ended up not taking too long and we quickly got the surgery scheduled for March 9, 2011.

In my next blog entry I will talk about my surgery and all that goes with that.  I would be more than happy to answer any questions about Dr. Stewart or my experiences with anyone so feel free to contact me!
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About Me
26.9
BMI
VSG
Surgery
03/09/2011
Surgery Date
Jan 30, 2011
Member Since

Friends 28

Latest Blog 7

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