jennyanniedots
I started my WLS journey back in June 2007, a month before I got married. I found Dr.Mark Kligman online and decided to go to one of his seminars. I really enjoyed his seminar, but left feeling that I wasn't "big" enough to qualify for the surgery. I still wanted to try though, so I went home and called his office the next day. Two weeks later I drove to Millersville and had a complete physical by Dr. Kligman. He was/is VERY detailed. I left with a list of things that I had to complete before my file could be submitted to the insurance. Among the things was to see a shrink- which I was terrified, but after finally finding one, it wasn't too bad. I also had to be monitored for six months by a nutritionist, have a sleep study and get a pap smear.
Skip ahead six months and all of my requirements were fulfilled. My file was submitted to the insurance (Blue Cross/Blue Shield) and in the beginning of March 2008 I received a phone call saying that my surgery date was March 18th! For the next two weeks I was running all over Baltimore. Dr.Kligman required me to visit the wing in which I'd be staying at University of MD, take a written test, sign a contract, get a chest x-ray, upper GI test- which was totally awful, ultrasound, EKG, urine test and 11 tubes of blood for testing. I also committed to become apart of a research study being conducted by MERK. By the end of all this I was thinking that surgery itself was going to be the simplest part of the whole ordeal.
On the night before surgery I ate a chicken cheese steak sub. I was feeling ok about everything and thought that my "last" meal was a good choice. Surprisingly, I slept the night before and woke up excited, nervous and ready to get it over with. My husband and parents were with me on the day of surgery. I had a tremendous amount of support from my friends and co-workers as well. We arrived at the hospital at 9:30am and I was scheduled for surgery at 11:30am. I signed papers and they called me back- alone. I was prepped for surgery, but had an extremely long wait before I was taken into the OR. I remember the nurse asking where's one place I'd like to visit and I said "Key West, please don't let me die before I see Key West". =) Then...I woke up and was told I was in recovery. I had a pain level of 5. They gave me my pain pump and I was in and out of it. The nurses let my family visit me and before I knew it (it was really 2 hours, I was told) I was in my own room. The pain was now at a 3 and eventually went to a 1. It was more soreness then pain. I spent the night in my room and walking around. The next morning I went for a leak test and everything was fine. I was really itching to get released, so I drank the amount that I needed to and we were out by 3pm!
Once home, I did walk around and climb stairs. I started at the gym exactly one week post-op and have been going ever since. I HATE the Unjury protein, but I make sure to get all my vitamins in each day. I'm amazed at how little I eat and how the weight is coming off.
I had my 3 week post op visit on 4/5/08 and lost 20 pounds. My goal weight is 115, but I feel that that is pretty low. For now I'm just taking it one day at a time and trying to get my protein and water in! I'd gladly recommend Dr. Kligman and his staff at the University of MD to anyone interested in WLS. Everyone was terrific and I feel that I had very good care!
