michelline
5 years and counting
Oct 14, 2013
well, it's been over five years since my Gastric Bypass and I am still so happy with my decision to start a healthier and happier life. I now weigh 155 and wear a size 4/6, so I want to lose a little weight, but will never be back where I was.
Wow. Long time no write... Here's my update.
Mar 23, 2011
I had my laparoscopic gastric bypass on Tuesday, 7/8/08. The morning of surgery I weighed 234 lbs. I wore a pair of size 20 shorts (which I still have!). I was inpatient at Memorial Medical Center for 3 days with no complications. I left the hospital and began a short recovery period. I quickly learned to carry around baby food spoons with me. I remember how excited I was to finally graduate from clear liquids (the first week) to creamy liquids (week 2), and then finally to soft foods. I was SO excited to finally go out to eat – AT KFC!! It took me over an hour to eat that tiny little serving of mashed potatoes and I thought they were the best food I’d ever had. Then I got to go out to Taco Bell and get their beans and cheese.
Anyway, dumping syndrome is real, people. But I have learned what I personally need to avoid – spaghetti noodles, pickles, ribs... Actually, most fatty meats will make me feel like I’m dying. So I don’t eat them. I occasionally miss these foods, but not enough to be in that much pain again! And really, those few items aren’t much of a sacrifice. Unfortunately, I have absolutely no problem with sweets. Sigh. So I have to remain vigilant.
I remember buying my first pair of non “W” pants. You know – clothes from the misses and not the women’s section. I bought a pair of size 16 jeans at JC Penny in September of 2008, right about 3 months after my surgery. From there I never looked back. By Christmas, I had purchased my very first pair of size 10 pants. By the end of January, those size 10s were too big. I finally ended up comfortable in size 8s. My weight loss leveled out at 140 pounds, which was 100 lbs down from my pre-surgery weight.
After being at a stable weight for 6 months, I talked to my surgeon and decided to look into plastics. I knew I needed a belt lipectomy (AKA a lower body lift or a circumferential abdominoplasty) with an outer thigh lift, an inner thigh lift, a brachioplasty, and a mastopexy with augmentation. The girls weren’t at their best after losing so much weight so quickly. I researched and researched (which everyone should do!!). I met with four different plastic surgeons and finally decided on the one I was most comfortable with. All four of the surgeons came in about the same for cost, BTW, which totaled about $30,000 for all of the surgeries combined. I finally ended up selecting a surgeon who came very highly recommended- Vaishali B. Doolabh, M.D. She is a beautiful woman, both in and out, and has the most excellent way of talking to a patient. I felt immediately at home in her practice. Check out her website at http://www.changeisbeautiful.com/. I feel so lucky to have found her.
Dr. Doolabh refused to do the surgeries in fewer than 3 segments as she said it was too much stress on my body (and hers! Remember, she’s the one doing the surgery and there are a lot of hours involved.). I respected that and even though that does add a bit to the cost (surgery center, anesthesiologist, etc), it’s not enough to quibble about. What’s about $1,000 when you’re spending about $30,000? Really. So I went with it. I knew I would need serious recovery time, so we decided to have an aggressive schedule with two weeks between each surgery so that I wouldn’t need to miss more than 6-7 weeks of work. We scheduled the surgeries like this: 1. Belt lipectomy with outer thigh lift – 2/17/10 2. Inner thigh lift – 3/4/10 3. Mastopexy w/augmentation and brachioplasty – 3/4/10. Well... let me tell you. Things don’t always work out the way we plan them. The first two surgeries went off just fine. On 3/16, I went in for a last review and to finalize the implants I had selected. (More on that later). Unfortunately, my right knee all the way up to my groin was so red and swollen and HUGE that she immediately cancelled surgery # 3(WAH!! That was the one I wanted the most!) and sent a culture off to the lab. It came back as a staph infection. Well, those must clear and then must be cleared for 6 weeks before you can have another invasive surgery. I CRIED!!! So I had to return to work without having had my 3rd surgery. It took a while for the infection to clear up... but eventually it did and we rescheduled surgery # 3 for 5/26/10. Knowing I wanted my breasts to be at least a D cup, I selected high profile silicon 550 cc implants. The surgeon worked with me quite a bit to help me make my decision. Surgery went off without a hitch. I finally got to say goodbye to my batwings.
After all was said and done, I am now a 34 DD. I wear a size 2/4. And I’ve never been happier. Oh. And no more Diabetes or High Blood Pressure!!!
Testing is over. For now...
Apr 16, 2008
I had my physical this morning. An EKG, bloodwork, and 2 chest x-rays. They said the x-rays and the EKG looked good, so as soon as they get the bloodwork back, they'll write the letter to Dr. Webb approving the surgery. They said they should have it back and hopefully the letter written by EOD Friday. I'll follow up on Wednesday to really give them time.
1 down - 1 to go
Apr 15, 2008
Alrighty now... the Upper GI is out of the way. It wasn't that bad. I was at the center at 7:05 and left at 8:30. The actual procedure only took about 30 minutes. The barium doesn't even taste all that bad. And it came in a cool cup with a straw. I think it was strawberry.
It's working...
Apr 10, 2008
I met with Dr. Webb (not dePeri) on 3/17 and really liked him. We talked for while about the possibility of a Gastric Sleeve instead of the RNY. He said I just have to let him know the day of the surgery actually. I think I'm pretty sure I'm going with the RNY.
Worrisome things
Mar 17, 2008
This morning I spoke with a coworker who had a roux in February 1998. He was in the hospital for 11 months! During his surgery, he developed bedsores on his buttocks (it was a 5 hour surgery). They had to cut out the skin around it so he had to remain inpatient for a while longer than expected. Then he developed MYRSA. And a hernia. A very rough recovery. But he says he'd do it all over again because his life has been so much better. He went from 470 to about 270.
I'm stressed about the things that can go wrong. I'm self-pay, so any complications would probably be on my own $$ as well. And then the time off of work... But this is something I HAVE to do. For me.
One more rung on the ladder
Mar 17, 2008
One step closer
Mar 12, 2008
Just getting started
Mar 11, 2008
I've felt large my entire life. I've always been larger than many others my age and have always felt like the "fat friend". My size has shaped my views of myself more than I would like to admit. My size has also shaped my health more than I would like. I've tried diets - I'm evidently not very good at them. I have Type-2 Diabetes and High Blood Pressure. I can't exercise for any length of time without feeling like I'm having a heart attack. And I can't wear pretty clothes 
Last fall, I met a new friend I thought was gorgeous. Great body. Pretty face. Wonderfully outgoing personality. Then I found out her body was "new" and hadn't always looked like that. She had had WLS in May 2004. Talking to her inspired me to begin looking into WLS for myself.
I already knew my insurance company (Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida) specifically excluded any coverage for the condition of Obesity, which meant if I did this, I would have to come up with the money on my own.
We found a practice that I really like and we've obtained funding ($20K!!). My husband is hugely supportive of my decision. So far I've had nutritional counseling. Tomorrow I'll have a Psych Eval and I am scheduled to meet with Dr. DePeri on 3/17. I can't wait!
