Linda A.

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It's been a YEAR since I blogged on here.  WOW!!!!!   I'm fresh from a visit with Kitza at the Duke WLS (on Wednesday) - and I have lost 156 pounds and 76 percent of my excess body fat, and changed my BMI from 53 to 29.  Life is so very different.  I was so very sick for so very long.  I had a whole list of co-morbidities...which I shall NOT name now...because many of them have changed and/or disappeared.  For about 11 years, I existed.  In pain, depressed, extremely physically ill, and gaining more and more weight.  I'm still thanking God for the DS and for Dr. Sudan, and for the excellent care I received, and continue to receive.  I turn 65 on June 2, and look and feel better than I have in decades.  And I'm so grateful.  

here on the blog, or here - where I am - feeling great and doing better all the time!

Those of you who have seen my very infrequent posts on the DS board since my surgery know I had a very rough recovery.  Suffice it to say I did NOT have infections, three post-op hospitalizations, a fistula and a feeding tube as any of the new experiences I was looking forward to!  

HOWEVER - I feel better every day for the past six weeks or so...and am SO very grateful for the DS and for Dr. Sudan, and for the loving support I have received on the OH site.

So many things have changed.  I breathe easier, walk and walk, accomplish tasks in the apartment, have energy to spare, fit in seats and booths and clothing (speaking of clothing, I enjoy looking at it again, and thinking about it, and planning outfits, etc.) 

I am thankful, thankful, thankful. 



 

Surgery at 7 am.  Leaving Greensboro for Durham at 4:30, for 5:45 check-in.  EXCITED!!!  I begin a new life tomorrow.  I am so inspired by reading the experiences of other DS thrivers.  There's a difference between surviving and thriving, and thriving is definitely the goal.  I am looking forward to experiencing many things I love and have not been able to do for a long time, and to experiencing new and wonderful things I haven't even dreamed up yet!  HERE I GO!  

Duke WLS called yesterday to say my surgery can happen on Tuesday, 10/19, instead of Thursday, 10/21.  I was just re-reading my blog and found that I began this journey with my first PCP visit on 7/19/07 and will have surgery on 10/19/10, 3 years and 3 months later.  I'm excited.  Ready to head out the door for Durham, for a full day of pre-op "stuff."  IT'S HAPPENING!!!!

Yesterday I was able to cause the last of my results to be faxed to the WLS center at Duke.  I called this morning to make sure nothing else was missing.  Left a message, and soon the nurse called to tell me they had, indeed, been received.  She said I would be receiving a call today or Monday to set a date!  Well, I got the call a couple of hours later...and Oct. 21st is the day!  I go on the 18th for a full day of pre-op "stuff".  Whoa...this is really happening.  I can't quite believe it yet!  Here's to my new future! 

In posting my thinking process about DS, I inspired a DS patient who has been a vegetarian for 25 years to write me and set me straight - er on the subject of eating after DS!  My investigation into the different types of WLS has lead me to believe DS would be GREAT for me, if I can get enough protein in my diet.  I NOW KNOW I CAN!  I'm looking forward to my first visit with a surgeon to discuss the possibility of a DS.  I always try to THINK AGAIN.  Keep an open mind and keep looking for more, and better, information!

I continue to check out all information on the OH boards, and have become quite interested in the DS.  The strong chance that someone with my autoimmune issues will not do well with a Lap Band caused me to check out the DS, and everything I read encourages me.  I will definitely be talking with Dr. Sudan about it when I get an appointment with him - which will be after my 4th consecutive PCP visit in May.  Best of luck to everyone out there struggling with all the considerations and choices - as I am! 

Well...a lot has happened since I last posted.  I came to the conclusion in 2007 that RNY was too risky for me, with my age/health issues/etc.  I think it was a good decision...but my weight has continued to climb.  I now weigh 326.  At least, that's what the doctor's office told me today.  I had visited with my Liver Specialist at Duke University Med Center in February, and he had suggested I look into Lap Band surgery.  I had not pursued that when I considered surgery in 2007, because it was not recommended for persons with autoimmune diseases.  Now I know some people have had great success with it despite their autoimmune issues.  So...I have scheduled myself for an information seminar (AGAIN) and will begin the six consecutive monthly visits with PCP next month...  Wait a minute...I had a visit today, and we talked about weight...so I guess I'll have visit #2 next month!!!   :-)

So good to be here again, and to have hope again.  I'm back.

Well...I received a phone call just prior to my 4th consecutive monthly pcp appointment, saying the nurse practitioner I had liked so well had left the practice, and I was being re-scheduled with her supervising doctor, if that was ok with me.  He seems very nice.  He's about my age, and easy to talk with.  I liked him.  So...appointment #5 is scheduled for November.  My son and I are scheduled to attend the WLS seminar at Duke WLS next Friday, Nov. 2.  The N.P. I saw last month decided I should have a relationship with a local cardiologist - I've lived in Greensboro for 2 years - and have had a couple of serious episodes of Atrial Fibrillation when I was hospitalized at Duke.  So...I was scheduled for a stress test (chemically induced), an echocardiogram, and an event test monitor.  All went smoothly except the event monitor....  I have a cell phone and no land line, and you have to transmit the digital info over the telephone...and the computer on the testing company's end wouldn't read the info from my cell.  Then my skin was reacting to the stickers I was wearing (I was supposed to wear the monitor for 10 days) and the clip broke off the holder for the device.  So...the doc's office had me mail that device back to the company...and the cardiologist ordered a Holter monitor for me for 48 hours.  When I went for my followup visit with the cardio, he told me the heart looked great...no blockages, no evidence of prior heart attacks.  He said I should do great with WLS!  Then, the next day, his office called and said the results were back from the Holter Monitor, showing I have frequent episodes of Atrial Fib, and they wanted me to start on Coumadin immediately.  So...here I am on another medication I was hoping to avoid.  I'm just going to keep going...and hoping the WLS surgery removes co-morbidities like High Blood Pressure - and, thus, stops the AF episodes. 

Last Thursday, I had the third of six consecutive monthly visits with pcp required by my insurance companies.  I saw a new doc, because of transportation issues - but mostly because the head physician who supervised the nurse practitioner I saw previously was anti-WLS.  I feel very comfortable with the new situation.  The Nurse Practitioner seemed very friendly, knowledgeable, thorough, and both positive and informed about WLS.  I feel much more confident about seeing someone for my health care who does not have a negative attitude about this major life decision I have made.  I need encouragement and support, and it feels as if I have found it. 

Tomorrow my only child turns 39.  It is so cliche to say that seems impossible...but it does.  We had a party last Saturday night to celebrate his birthday, and his co-workers are taking him out to lunch tomorrow, so he is having a great birthday week.  He deserves it.  He's such a wonderful guy.  I'm prejudiced, and I'm right! 

For the most part, I am grateful for this six-month period prior to moving on to the surgery, because it is giving me the time to do lots of research and to process the many large concerns and questions that come up as I prepare myself mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.  My confidence continues to grow as each of my questions is weighed and considered.